Mausoleum and others

"Back To School"

Typical college: bullies, slackers, kids wearing caps indoors, tribes, intimidated teachers, etc.  After yet another incident in which a teacher tried to discipline a bully only to get roughed up by the kid's thuggish big brother on his way out, the headmaster decides he's had enough. He calls for a confidential meeting with all teachers and staff one evening.

The next week, all parents and pupils are summoned in for a "highly important" assembly, officially regarding new grants to be awarded (this being the only way to ensure their attendance). Once inside, the guests find themselves locked up, and taken in hand by the staff seconded by martial arts Zen monks. No-one is allowed to leave until they have learned the meaning of respect ...as well as their multiplication tables. The good pupils are soon released and given the week off. The violent elements who refuse to back down have to bear the consequence of their actions.

"Not to worry" announces the young philosophy teacher (who was bullied) "we’ll take all the time required in order to achieve enlightenment... Importantly, for this moment to truly happen, it will have to be recognised not just by you, but by your peers ...since if there’s one thing that you can be relied on is to cheat and lie. Oh yes. Get it into your heads as soon as possible that this behaviour won’t get you anywhere, don’t you see? You wouldn’t have learned anything if you resorted to such tricks? So, no, your predictable subterfuges will be of no use. They are not a valuable option. This trial we are going to get through together will provide the answer. It will offer you the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spiritually grow.  ... This may take some time."

Possible ending: the following week, life resumes just as it went on, in the same climate of fear and violence -as if the extraordinary rebellion didn't make any difference but was, in fact, just another measure taken every now and then by the school authorities without making any impact whatsoever.

Comments: basic role reversal, with teachers regaining control of their school -literally. Now the obvious danger is to see this plot turned into some kind of Nazi propaganda exercise, therefore the Karma topic must be clearly established: those punished are only those who misbehaved in the first place: "live by the sword..." .

Pretext for countless puns on phrases commonly said without anyone actually meaning them: "and now we shall..." "what did you learn today ?" "apply yourself", and such-like. The gym teacher now in charge of serious "tough love"; the school doctor having to administer first aid in very real situations; the philosophy teacher demonstrating the relevance of Kantian principles; of the importance of expressing oneself clearly in a language understandable by all etc. The troublesome elements who prevent the others from getting any sleep are prevented from sleeping themselves.

The "tough guys" who fancied themselves as gangsta rappers are forced to account for their arrogant persona; sexists find themselves re-educated by the derided female school counselor /  psychologist; xenophobes are forced to learn about geography and foreign cultures; religious fanatics are made to study and take into account other ideologies, and so on.

Setting: the school gets turned into a fortress: use of low angle shots. Façade of school off Caversham Rd. in Reading. Dormitories are returned to their original function.

Structure of film: the usual exposition; then the incident that broke the camel's back; the mysterious twist revealed; revenge enacted by the school staff.

Reversal: the originally idealistic, cerebral "wimp" headmaster has had enough and hatches his plan, turning into a ("enlightened") dictator of a sort. Obviously, this is a very thin ideological line to walk, hence the need for a necessary first part highlighting what "this world is coming to" (continuous ambulance / police sirens, car alarms in background and so on). Precise statistics about teachers' plight may be offered at this stage: suicide rate, nervous breakdowns, difficulty of recruiting... The plot ought to –perversely- appeal to the vengeful voyeuristic tendencies of the audience, shaking them out of their complacency and making them ponder what happened to childhood, education, civility... How come that what should be the most noble / exciting / rewarding period of life has been so often sullied by violence, drugs, clique mentality, peer pressure and so on? In this respect, this film is having its cake and eating it, seemingly embracing violence in order to refute it.

Music: "The Teachers Are Afraid Of The Pupils" Morrissey.

For the film to work, it ought to take targets all round without singling out one group to the exclusion of others. Racism exists in many shapes and forms and applies to all self-affirming groups. The film also ought to pose (anglicisme retourné, ha ha) thought-provoking questions set into a broader context, such as the famed English reluctance to learn any foreign language, fundamentalist Islamic intolerance, Gangster Rap, the liberal worship of greed and so on... Beat Takeshi territory?

"Fanatismo dell' Senso" (=Mania For Meaning, part of an Antonioni quote)

Africa, an undetermined country. A civil war is going on, with a religious guerilla rising against the corrupt government. The guerillas have taken to defacing and destroying historical monuments, seeing them as symbols of oppression: literal iconoclasts. The West is appalled and sends a commando to salvage sacred statues before the religious fanatics can get to them. A mixture of art historians (chosen for their expertise) and mercenaries progress through the luxuriant, beautiful jungle deeper and deeper into enemy territory ("The Thin Red Line" hymn to mother Nature meets "Heart Of Darkness"). They witness atrocities (all of the religious militants’ prisoners have had their hands chopped off; the women are confined to full-body veil indoors; the cultural artifacts have been destroyed or burnt in funeral pyres). During their race against time, the group debate art's eternal qualities vs. human life's triviality. The members of this mission all fight the fanatics for different reasons: whether to contain religious extremism, save the precious artifacts, support the West friendly government, and so on.

The end: the surviving trio, having fought their way out of the temple, is rescued by helicopter, carrying the precious statues. Then a rebel takes aims with his rocket launcher... Copyright Loig Thivend 2002.

The two starting points.

-This story was originally inspired by the fuss made about the Afghan Buddhas destroyed by the Taleban ...and the near total lack of concern for Afghan women held in slavery. PS: Twenty years later, more horrifying islamist groups are on the rise, committing exactly the same.

-It also explores fascination with Art: its "sublime", escapist, eternal quality as opposed to ephemeral and sometimes boring daily human life, a dichotomy only exacerbated when confronted with the horrors of this world. We could easily choose to spend our entire life enjoying Art ....all the while ignoring those who starve and suffer (by the hundreds of millions) a mere couple of hours away by plane. This scenario allows for a juxtaposition of these two worlds coming into direct conflict: reality vs. creation, pain vs. devotion to aesthetics, temporal vs. eternal. Is Art sacred? Is anything sacred? Life, for example?

The story exposes Religion's intolerant views –and its own appeal to higher reasons (invoked to justify all sorts of atrocities).

Further twists. References to Algeria, corrupt regimes backed by the Western world (Nigeria's petrol and Shell), French colonies in Africa.

More on the topic of Art: how the colonial powers looted the Third World in the name of superior respectability (Greek marbles, Egyptian statues taken by Napoleon). The "McGuffin" (i.e. the apparent subject of the story) should indeed be a thing of beauty -it would be cynical and cheap to suggest otherwise and offer crap-looking statues. …but is it worth all these deaths? The aesthetes have to get their hands dirty as they progress through the jungle and get to grips with the real, unrefined world.

Importance of offering multiple genuine examples such as ritual amputations in Sierra Leone or schools and hospitals closed in Afghanistan (use of documentary footage?) and so on. Mixture of different real situations / countries could be used so as to make the theme more universal (as de Bernières did for his Latin America trilogy).

What is History? Does it only concern the past, or isn’t it also what happens? i.e. what is being currently carved out, as we go along, editing reality for future reference.

Multiple character points of view / film genres could be offered to make it an entertaining, exotic action thriller (easy references to "Tomb Raider" and  "Indiana Jones"). All manners of what is usually understood as commodified Art should also be featured, going way further than the simple statues, including: rock stars t-shirts; the in-flight entertainment;  clothing choices and so on pointing out their functions / relevance / presence in everyday life.

+ of course the beauty of nature, as opposed to the ugliness of war.

A whole raft of variations around these themes can be included such as conservation issues, differing conceptions of beauty…

Soundtrack: Lisa Gerrard-Persian Love Song and Largo (two songs which I have requested for my funeral!); Dire Straits-Brothers In Arms. Sparklehorse-More Yellow Birds; Sea Of Teeth.

"Chinese Whisper"

Film opens with an Internet forum specialised in spreading hoaxes regarding pop stars (“so-and-so is gay”, that sort of Popbitch titillating slander). Reference to online sensational rumour-mongers such as the Drudge report, Luke Ford, etc. Then gets more serious as the (unseen) Internet wind-up merchant gets into proper hacking, infiltrating established companies, raising the alarm in some quarters.

Journalistic deontological issue: a newspaper editor complains about the rise of the Internet where unsubstantiated rumours take shape, are transmitted, and instantly accepted at face value whereas papers need to check their sources first and lose out on readership - advertising contracts. 

A secret service is called upon to intervene, and manages to catch the hacker (in a military operation scene "7" style + "Pump Up The Volume"). He turns out to be a lone 17 yr old "nerd" in his super-equipped bedroom just doing it for fun rather than for money or a foreign power.

The secret service officer offers the kid a chance to work for them instead of going down for a very, very long time in total isolation (reference to Israeli nuclear scientist). "Hidetoshi" (name to be confirmed) accepts, in exchange for immunity. His new superiors instruct him to sow rumours concerning the financial state of foreign companies and stability of foreign regimes. He does so -with gusto- for a while. (Shade of "Nikita".) Until he senses that something is wrong and that his activities (after initial satisfying successes) are going too far, get off-target and –ultimately- are discrediting the reliability of the Net as a whole. Cue series of spectacularly icky / false "coups".  As the tall tales he's instructed to "plant" get more and more unrealistic, he starts to wonder what is truly going on. People are getting hurt as a result of his actions. Growing dichotomy between his commissioned wind-ups and real life consequences, until he finally "twigs" that there may be something else afoot. His mission may be a smokescreen, and he of all pranksters starts to hanker for truth / honesty.

Conducting his own private research, he comes across the (financial) revelation that his superior ("Lieutenant X") is in cahoots with... a worldwide press baron (echo of early scene).

He either contacts the mogul or the mogul contacts him -second option probably best. This opens up yet another door / dimension through which he gets catapulted. (He may discover at this stage that he himself has been bugged all along.) The press baron explains to him, during a ride in his old Rolls Royce, how paper is in fact a very valuable commodity... and that soon enough, people will realise how unreliable the Net is (crisis of confidence compounded by cyclical reaction to technology). His gamble is that the masses will return to properly authoritative, traceable printed documents... which he will control and own like a Murdoch / Turner / Bertelsmann. Topic of media moguls dictating the news /  culture / ideology / mind-set production and distribution and hating the more decentralised, uncontrollable Net which tends to get beyond their personal / national / corporate control.

They then take a walk, with the James Bond villain type getting all agitated as he lectures the young man and doesn't take notice of a storm gathering around them.  Exclaims "God strikes me dead if (…)". Gets struck by lightning. "Oh my god" says Hidetoshi looking up at light from heaven. End of film.

Copyright Loig Aliix Thivend 2002 –and the naivety of it shows!

Notes:

Power as information, and information as power.

Tropes of progression in an ever increasing existential vertigo:

-more and more unreliable sources, boxes within boxes, who manipulates who, more and more dangerous

-more and more primal: technology (elaborate deceptions), then money (brutal domination), then nature (chance calamity). All of this demonstrated in the settings, starting with the most advanced (Hide's room), then an impersonal spy building, then an old car, into the open air, to conclude on a field

-more and more powerful: pop, then business, then secret service, then a multinational conglomerate

-more and more brutal, leading to the lethal power of nature

-more and more influential in the increasingly ominous chain of command which –by rights- should start with one-on-one relations. Not the case here with culture (pop music) coming in first place, followed by business (money), then secret services black ops (national interest and destabilization of foreign regimes), multinational corporate interests (global rule) and ultimately... meteorological considerations ( i.e. nature at its indiscriminate, irresistible power) ...or is it God Himself? Little joke here for those who choose to believe in the supernatural. The ending has to remain ambiguous: we don’t get to see what happens afterwards. In any case -whether it be an act of God or of nature- it does lead up to / end up with an awesome force that one can't legislate against nor manipulate, let alone control. In this perspective, the ending must be interpreted as yet another (“heavenly”) level of the videogame sort (that the hero will have be shown to indulge in).

Starting point: what is more powerful than logic? The answer is a variety of things in fact, such as: rumour mongering; human foibles; our tendency to fall for gossip; our reptilian brain, etc.

Then what is more powerful than The Law? Secret services. More powerful than States? Multinationals / "globalisation".

More powerful than anything? Some call it fate, some call it God. Or else, nature.

The hacker hero must be a lone, immigrant kid. Probably Oriental, if the film is to take place in the USA, or Indian if in England. What starts as innocent fun evolves into something more serious; then the protagonist experiences the thrills of gaining influence; then the rule of money takes over and ruins everything. Concludes with the inevitable: ...that will be death. Death is the ultimate breakdown of everything (such as logic / fun / entrepreneurial spirit); it is the ultimate de-structuring event.

Central theme. If we think about it, the paper medium has a lot going for it: it requires no apparatus, equipment, or electricity..

Joke soundtrack: "I sing the body electric" from "Fame".

"Mausoleum" (Keeper Of The Dead)

(…) Admiring the cemetery, the visitor comes across a gang of youth misbehaving. A dark figure on a motorbike suddenly appears, who roughs them up and chases them out of the grounds (with the visitor standing in for us, the audience). The visitor relaxes, only for the figure to reappear out of nowhere, startling him. The visitor scampers away, his hair turned white with terror.

(Western style credits at this stage: a good twelve minutes into the film, with some Morricone grand organ music à la "A Fistful Of Dollars" to introduce the hero).

Scenes establishing the "NecroMaster"’s life as he goes about his business (...) to a glorious soundtrack of classical music mixed with Goth punk. Physically outstanding, possibly gigantic (low angle shot), otherworldly looking: maybe wears long, raven black hair, dressed in black leather and tuxedo (shades of Dave Vanian), flanked by a pet raven for good measure. He leads an isolated life, away from the local community who keep him at a distance (they deposit food outside the fantasmagoric gates of the domain every Friday) despite recognising his artistry and competence. Collective guilt which the funeral director took on, in exchange for taking over the funeral ground. (...) Scene in which he ventures out of his domain and strolls down the main street, with crowds of shoppers parting to let him through. (Visual light-effect à la "Kairo" to set him apart).

Female character loses her brother in a gang related attack. (...) The caretaker saves her; takes care of her brother’s burial, leaving his personal effects in the coffin i.e. with the loot inside the pockets. (...)

Curious about him, she hangs about to spy on the charismatic loner. Cue more night scenes depicting him roaming his facteur Cheval-meets-Gaudi kingdom, talking to the dead, arranging things, redistributing flowers among the poor –all this to grand music. He is in fact aware of her presence, thanks to his raven who comes to perch on his shoulder (cackling excitedly) and her reflections (on headstones and such places) . (...)

He surprises and scares away the gang members come back to disinter the corpse and get at the “treasure”; then lies in wait for their inevitable return a couple of nights later, lays traps all over the grounds. (...) Gets injured during their battle; she takes him away. Discovering his unnatural condition, she confronts him. Silence on his part: he can't reveal his true nature (...) he was here when popes ruled the Western world and unleashed the Inquisition. Speaking ever slower, he explains : (...)

But this is not the end. (...)

Unashamed Gothic loner fantasy. Vague composite echoes of "Dellamore", "The Lighthouse At The End Of The World", the Australian film in the desert with one of the INXS guys, "Choke", "Highlander", "L'Arrache coeur", "The Garden" (D. Jarman), "Kissed", "The Sweet Hereafter", "Le Grand Bleu", "The Sandman" comic, and many more. Complete version existing... somewhere, in my archives (haven’t been able to locate it).

Choice: either the film starts with him not aware of his true nature and he ends up like Jack in "The Shining" (having found his spiritual home, or realising with horror that he is doomed to stay here forever), or he is different from the word “go” and knows exactly what his mission is: to assist the dead in their passing to the other side. In other words: either a BildungsRoman adventure with him as hero, or a mystery with him as object of the protagonist's curiosity.

Soundtrack: The Pixies "I've Been Waiting For You"; Kosheen "I Want It All"; end of David Bowie "Seven Years In Tibet"; Siouxsie "The Last Beat Of My Heart".

Further twist: including another story of mine called "The Leisure Of Death", in which an entrepreneur proposes to his clients to experience a night with the dead (three levels available on offer: camping in the cemetery, sleeping in a church, or being locked in a funeral monument) which the hero may -or may not- take part in as security for the clients willing to undergo the experience. Ties in with the main plot  in which he acts as a security guard against grave robbers and the bikers gang.  Yet another twist which came to me in a dream. 

Copyright: 180 Cave Men 2001 / Under The Big Black Sun Of A Long Dark Summer 2002 / w.o.r.l.d. 2003 aka Loig Thivend.

(Not finished) "The Children's Factory" / "l'Usine à enfants"

A bunch of children -at first a brother and his sister, then some of their friends- come to suspect that something very weird is going on with their parents when their family moves into a different neighbourhood. Everything is fine at first (posh area, life of relative material luxury) but "Billy" (12) has nightmares about his dead elder brother, who disappeared about eight years ago. His cheery parents remain evasive about the circumstances. One day, as he goes through his dad's private things, he comes across a bunch of official letters from the "Ministry of Social Affairs" concerning his (i.e. Billy's) forthcoming "graduation" (or somesuch term). Confides to his sister "Mary". She too finds things belonging to her Mum's. They talk to their friends about it; they are all excited at first but one of their mates –a nerdy type that no-one ever believes- is not convinced that this "graduation" is such a good thing... (Maybe this group could resemble Enid Blyton's Famous Five). They find out that a lot of children go missing regularly and that the adults hush these disappearances up, despite being perfectly aware of these vanishings -and even taking part in the abductions (ambulances / cars of uniformed goons without license plates?)! Thanks to their small size and penchant for climbing trees (which enables them to escape security: i.e. what was shown as innocent and trivial fun at the start of film will prove increasingly important as the story progresses), the children infiltrate the official building where the "relocated" children are sent to, never to reappear, when they near puberty and have their “graduation”.

Billy's hazy remembrances of his bro's disappearance become more precise (maybe after having a joint or a drink). He recalls "Joel" being abducted by official looking goons with his parents' apparent approval.

They discover that children get taken away by the government to have their parts and genes transplanted onto adults in order to insure world domination over the younger generation. That is to say, the adults we see will turn out to be much older than they appear to be: vampire dimension). The guiding motive has to be something monstrous that has been rationalised, systemized, and State-controlled. It could involve scientific slaughter using bona fide doctors and medical facilities using convenient "double speak" terms in order to disguise the truth (sinister genuine reference here...).

Every family providing two children gets to keep the two remaining ones (who are needed for perpetuating the race). ...This means that Billy is the next one in line, having a younger brother and a younger sister.

Ending. The group of kids may manage to escape, with adults letting them take their chance in the wilderness (in a post-nuclear war world being a possible context or off on a boat like Tom Sawyer being another one) and warning them that they'll soon miss the far-reaching technological comfort of society before adding that, anyway, they're not too bothered: all they’ll do is produce more offspring for the slaughter.

Chilling prospect for an ending. The road to truth and liberty never is the easiest one. Ideally, the anticipation / science-fiction angle shouldn’t be stressed. It would be dramatically more disturbing to stage the story in the oft-portrayed fifties style, white fences Americana that TV series and David Lunch have accustomed us to (assuming this takes place in the USA); if not based there, any other mundane, familiar surroundings will do.

Inspiration: Orwellian's double-talk to mean the contrary of what is said. Official terms to be defined: "social care" = euthanasia; plant = slaughterhouse; Family Award = number of children sacrificed to the State, and so on.

Obvious reference to "Parents", but in a more general perspective: political allegory on how adulthood eats up the young, how the rich –literally- absorb the weakest.

The original idea was: What happens when children can't trust adults, i.e. those who are supposed to care for them? The answer is: the children have to fend off for themselves. Common sense dictates that "grown-ups are always right" ...as every parent probably told their children at one stage or another (“Why? -Because that’s the way it is / Because I say so. End of!”) but what if the grown-ups were not right, what if they were not benevolent!

On a related note, I always felt that this was a massively important topic underpinning “A Nightmare On Elm Street” that didn’t get stressed enough: namely, what happens when parents don’t believe their children? (In this case, that there is a monster called Freddie chasing them in their dreams.)

Conspiracy of silence from the ruling class / adults (who will be found to be all taking part in the monstrous society underpinning scheme). One generation at (secret) war with the other. Children have to take up the challenge of their future into their own hands.

A follow-up story could feature these children taking up arms against the grown-ups.

Sexual subtext: puberty brings about death, parents can't tolerate their children's new mature status.

Other angle: the bullying cycle. Those who were once under threat of death by their parents (and have survived) now take it out on the youngest.

Maybe the story’s adults physically need the implants in order to cope with the ruined-climate conditions, which allows for reference to genuine gene treatments -cue another subtext, this time ecological / apocalyptic.

Problem to solve:

do adults act covertly (cue suspense / conspiracy to uncover)

or are they brazenly convinced of their privilege (having survived the “graduation” birth lottery), which leads them to blatantly enforce State directives? The regime being totalitarian behind a benevolent appearance . This second case scenario makes for a more chilling situation, I would imagine.

Our young heroes come across the truth thanks to their naturally inquisitive mind and their status as newcomers in this neighborhood. By contrast, the other kids who have spent their lives there have been spoon-fed escapist television all day long, all of their lives, and no longer notice / choose to pay attention to the more serious pressing issues staring at them in the face (allegory of ourselves).

Soundtrack: The SisterHood "Rain From Heaven". The Lovin' Spoonful "Do You Believe In Magic?" Consolidated "This Is Fascism" dance remix.

Came to me in a dream, could be developed into a TV series: "The Dream Catchers".

Story of an elite squad whose mission it is to wake up those who are about to unleash potentially subversive dreams, or act upon these dreams once their uncontrollable force has been unleashed.

The squad’s first imperative is to keep in check and contain these powerful drives / urges. Every member of society is equipped with a microchip which aborts their dreams at a certain critical moment. But sometimes, people don't wake up and their fantasies take over / take place for real (Dyonisos and censorship). Pretext for sci-fi visions of, for ex., monsters rampaging through normal streets; sexy überbabes multiplying in front of teenagers who are gradually confronted with too many of them and are forced to run away; the classic English case of finding oneself naked in public with everyone staring …and in front of the Queen (affecting someone "posh" / stuck up); some dignitary committing an unforgivable faux-pas during a reception (cf. clip of this foreign official who dropped a precious vase in front of Prince Charles and instantly claimed “it wasn’t me”); starting a war through a succession of catastrophic mishaps - Anything goes!

The hit squad: either methodical, cold-blooded, killers dressed like doctors or young, sexy, heroes battling the forces of evil and subversion.

Second level: underlying critiques of society could be slipped in. Political messages could underpin the outlawed visions, accounting for the existence of the censorious squad: their mission of dream suppression reflects, in fact, a deliberate political will. Alternative meanings and sub-plots: is the hit-squad’s enterprise so righteous after all? ...or are they enforcing a repressive agenda?

They could believe to be acting with the best of intentions but get to develop doubts every now and then (and use their judgement to let some offenders lightly). Or they could unequivocally embody the repressive intolerance of their political regime (a bit like Judge Dredd who, let’s not forget, was a caricature).

A comment on societal taboos. The unacceptable visions will represent yearnings for greater tolerance (gender ambiguity, for example) and self-expression.

 “(I've got the) Touch”

Setting: a glum, uninspiring town in the grey morning. The protagonist, a big guy, arrives at work: a banal, bleak office full of PCs plastered with Post-Its, piles of paperwork and a massive photocopier. He exchanges pleasantries with his bored / grumpy co-workers, cracks a few jokes which seem to amuse them. Cut to a scene in a pub at lunchtime, where he is having a drink with his colleagues. He makes them laugh, making funny faces. They also laugh at him as he chokes on his sandwich -before eventually thumps him on the back. Then back to the street where he lives: he is walking home (...)

Next day, more of the same. Massimo is a popular guy in the office, where he goes by a ridiculous nickname (“Mousy”). The work is highly tedious (shots of the white collars lot more or less in the same positions, same places, same occupations over a period of time indicated by clock close-ups).

Massimo gets invited to a colleague's birthday drink. Someone comments that "Mousy" is the life and soul of every party, and narrates how Massimo once fell into a thorned bush on his way back home (to general hilarity). Cut to the party: Massimo announces that, as everyone knows, he sadly can't stay too long (general groan of disappointment; some people nudge each other in the ribs at the announcement), he has to go, if only he could manage to remember his address ("As if of all people he would forget it" comments someone). (...) As he pays the taxi driver, his words are noticeably less slurred. He closes his front door (scene shot this time from inside), his face totally different: hard and dark, almost menacing.

(...) Massimo reminds his female companion who is starting to embarrass him "As you know, life's not the same for everyone, well... some of us have to get back home I’m afraid... and look after our wretched old mother the witch! Ah there is nothing I’d love more than to spend an evening with you -heh heh- but..."

"Ah don’t be a spoilsport”

"No, no, I know you’re devastated (hee hee) but you know I won't, I can't... Thank me old Mum eh -you're safe for tonight! Hey Mum, come here..."

He mimes strangling her; everyone falls about laughing. His friend then replies that it’s funny how nobody has ever seen his notorious Mum, in fact.

"They don’t know their luck!" he retorts instantly, and everyone bursts out laughing again. He whips out a banknote and suggests a new round of drinks, which everyone (naturally) accepts gladly.

At home, twilight time. In contrast to the previous scenes, slow camera movement panning up to him, seated on his bed in his underwear, staring at the wall, silent (atmospheric music). He gets up and observes what is happening outside in the street for a while. Cut to scene in which he gulps down junk food while watching telly.

Massimo’s superior informs him of an annoying agreement their company have to honour with the town council, something he personally doesn't have too much time for / can't be bothered with, but can't possibly refuse to honour. He asks Massimo to take care of the intern ("Irene") who will be sent from the council to work with / inside his company, harmonising forms and regulations; could he keep her / the council sweet ...and make sure that private, corporate details remain just that: private? Massimo naturally accepts.

A young woman duly appears the next morning at his building; she is quite pretty  but he acts as if he doesn't notice, saluting her as he salutes everyone around, in particular the military type receptionist who teases him about his weight as he does every morning. Massimo takes it on the chin, catches up with the new girl, keeps the elevator door open for her, helps her find her way through the floors. In the lift, he doesn't glance at her as some male colleagues do (uncomfortable 45 full seconds: she is perfectly aware of their stares). Nervous, she spills her papers on the floor. Massimon helps her picks them up, which allows us to glimpse a few details about her / her job printed on the pages. After exchanged polite introductory small-chat, they discover that he is the person she is supposed to meet and liaise with (in order to “check technicalities discussed over the phone”).

They spend the afternoon working side by side, comparing documents. What with her being quite pretty, his male colleagues make rude gestures behind her back, blowing kisses at her, nudging "Mousy" in the ribs. He takes it in his stride and indulges their crass humour when she's got her back turned. Still, he remains polite and respectful towards the young woman who gamely tries to impress these highly experienced professionals. They, in turn, never fail to ask her to do some photocopying, do them a cup of tea, or come to their desk and bend over in order to check a trivial detail.

(...) Back to his desk, Massimo doesn't patronise Irene as the others have done, goes off to brew his own cup of coffee (asking the others if they want one). Asked what the boss wanted to see him for, he lies and pretends that their short talk was about an expenses form that he had got wrong; even implies that he got a roasting. This satisfies his colleagues’ petty curiosity.

Another day. Irene mentions that she is off to watch a film that night with some friends, asks Massimo whether he would like to join them. He refuses politely, explaining that he has an invalid mother at home that he must care for. Irene expresses sympathy. 

(…) She sadly can't come in, he sighs; he'd love to invite her but it's just that his mother is currently taking a nap upstairs and mustn't be disturbed. Irene "totally understands" and moves on. The camera follows him inside the house: he dumps the bag on the table, puts away all the goods (some of them –drugs, for ex.- destined for his mother) ....on perfectly stocked shelves where rows of similar cans line up untouched.

Back to Irene. Coming back from the film with her girlfriend, she tells her about her present job at the insurance company and how the men there treat her; how only one guy doesn't hit on her but treats her with respect instead; describes him. Explains that in fact, she had asked this guy (Massimo) to join them this evening and why he couldn't make it. Her friend mentions home care, compensation claims and suchlike. Irene concurs: Massimo's mother ought to qualify for some kind of support; remarks how funny that Massimo didn't apply for home help himself; promises to look into it in return for his kindness.

Back at the office the next day. Waiting by the coffee machine, she subtly brings up the subject to Alan, asking him if he has in fact ever met Massimo's mother, what exactly is she suffering from -but the man doesn't want to know ("Who cares?") and cuts her short, makes a remark about her outfit instead. He asks her why she is so interested in Mousy in the first place, ooh what man of mystery he makes and so on. She gives up and goes back to her desk. (...)

But she goes back to her line of questioning and insists, to Massimo’s growing unease (...). He drains his glass, slams it on the table accidentally. Coughs, embarrassed by his own reaction. Cracks a lame joke, maybe he shouldn't have had that drink, that was probably a bad idea to slum it with the likes of her ha ha. He excuses himself and leaves.

Taken aback by his reaction, Irene follows him secretly. He doesn't go in the hospital's direction (where he had claimed to be heading), but in fact goes back to his house. From the street below, she follows his progress through the rooms whose lights he switches on: notes that no other room seems occupied. Massimo leaves the house five minutes later, looking over his shoulder. On a whim, she enters the house. (At this juncture, replicating camera movements / framing / photography from "Psycho" would be fun.) Irene explores the house, at first timidly, then more boldly. She discovers that it is empty.

(...)

She takes him to the bench where they used to sit in happier times. She tells him what she knows. (…) Massimo composes himself. Irene stares at him, shell-shocked. He gets up, and regaining his usual composure, leaves with a feeble quip that falls flat.

Later, at the office. One of the "lads" nudges him in the ribs: "Hey big boy, fancy joining us for a brew? We’re off to the Quacking Duck." For a second, Massimo scratches his neck, prepares an answer; then....

The End.

Comments. The real surprise with modern life is that there is no more crimes or mental / physical illnesses occurring ...when you have millions of people crammed in together on a mere few square miles. We have to create a persona for ourselves in order to cope; then and only then can we go about our business (i.e. under this socially acceptable mask). Existential isolation still exists, though –except under a camouflage. + It is an oft-repeated fact that, in modern towns, nobody knows their neighbours.

Massimo has a metaphorical desert at his core. He function through others, drawing his strength from them. He comes alive through his interactions with them, plays on their easy spots (flattering them, making them feel superior, and so on). “Flattery will get you nowhere” is so untrue! 

Not that they want to know about his personal life in return, oh no. They are quite happy to turn a blind eye on what should be a cause for concern (his dependence upon his ailing mother). ... They simply don’t care.

Now it may be the case that some of them have sensed his bluff; some of them may have twigged by now -but it still is more convenient to pretend ignorance. This is where the newcomer comes in. The new girl on the scene is all the more intrigued. From a casual question grows a doubt, and then she will actually ask: ...how come nobody has ever wondered about Massimo's incoherences? She picks on the conspiracy of silence as only an outsider can; no-one wants to rock the boat.

The film ought to take many directions, at times a comedy, at times frightening (cf. "Felicia's Journey"); progression from a bizarre little detail to full psychosis (cf. one of my favourite movies "Static"); contrast between glum town ("Seven” in a way) and escapist TV series which some characters watch compulsively  (cf. “Invitation To Love” in “Twin Peaks”).

Casting: ideally Vince Prutt Taylor; or Kevin Spacey; Michel Blanc; Jim Broadbent.

Music: "Walking After You" the Foo Fighters. "The Only Mother" Smog. "But Not Tonight" Depeche Mode. Cat Power. Loig Thivend 1996

Logline. An overweight office clerk, great at entertaining his mediocre colleagues, pretends to have an ailing (never seen) old mother at home whom he has to care for. A young woman befriends him and uncovers his secret in this psychological suspense thriller.

Alternative titles: "Burning From The Inside" / "Mother's Boy" / "The Unknown Soldier's Grave".