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                                    BROKEN EMBRACES
          

                                      Written by

                                    Pedro Almodovar  

          

          

          

          DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN.

          

          

          

          
          A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark
          building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes
          dark.

          Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights
          go out.

          The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda
          Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well-
          known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that
          disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in
          darkness.)

          

          

          

          

          1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT.


          

          
          Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry,
          immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the
          thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time
          take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that
          come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until
          they stop.

          In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too,
          is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand
          moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks
          younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified
          and practical manner).

          

          
          She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything
          outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark
          mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings
          visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background
          is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry:

          

          

           JUDIT
           The Door of Alcala has also darkened.

          

          
          Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole
          house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes
          through the windows, curtains drawn back.

          

          

          

          

           3

          
          Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra
          clock, to which she gives a cursory glance.
          She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket,
          she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in
          silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it.
          She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The
          minute hand nears 8 p.m.
          On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper.
          The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global
          warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute
          blackout at 8 p.m.

          

          
          Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot
          where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the
          frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand
          completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp.
          Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in
          the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its
          characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up.
          (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in
          a special luminous atmosphere ­ dense, translucent, with darkened
          zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some
          paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind
          of quality that denotes good personal taste.

          

          
          Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief.
          She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and
          contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to
          blink, in square patterns of light.

          

          

          

          

          2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY.


           4

          
          The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a
          blinding light that floods the screen.
          It will probably be a close-up of the sun.

          

          
          That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of
          Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the
          window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the
          following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier")

          

          
          The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene
          occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry
          and Judit.
          Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters
          through the window.
          Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried
          and loving:

          

          

           JUDIT
           Mateo, say something!

           MATEO-HARRY
           Mateo is dead.

           JUDIT
           (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that!

          

          
          The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the
          previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on
          his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely
          covered by bandages.

          

          
          Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen
          years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty

           5

          
          years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he
          was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was
          called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off
          explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008.

          

          

           OFF HARRY
           I always wanted to be another person, to be someone
           beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't
           seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for
           me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for
           myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would
           have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him
           author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I
           came up with a standard biography to fill the back
           flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an
           industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a
           boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A
           self-made man, active and attractive like an English
           spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years,
           Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person,
           me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't
           be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my
           pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror,
           we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled,
           reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not
           reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one
           left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and,
           never better stated, a self-made man, one might even
           say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I
           had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer.

          

          

          

          

           6

          

          3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY

          RITUALS.

          

          
          Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps
          himself in great physical shape.

          

          
          Harry's Home. Interior. Day.

          

          
          In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects
          and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins
          exercising.
          He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same
          person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera
          pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense
          waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape.
          The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of
          the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors)
          In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will
          wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front
          of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance .
          Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs
          to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch.
          He exits onto the street.

          

          

          

          

          4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING.


          

          
          Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When
          he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and
          white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of
          pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do,

          

          

           7

          
          they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in
          pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it
          is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively.

          

          

          

          

          5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY.


          

          
          Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news-
          stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar.
          Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily
          routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face
          that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it
          under his arm.
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY.


          

          
          He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as
          soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an
          approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South
          American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the
          morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All
          of these actions are part of a daily ritual.

          

          

           WAITER FRIEND
           Do you want me to read you something from the
           newspaper?

           HARRY
           No, thanks. I am off on a stroll.

          

          

          

          

           8

          

          RETURN TO SEC. 5

          

          
          Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of
          the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors.
          Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears
          all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate
          them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street
          disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the
          smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry
          selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and
          disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of
          her heels. He loses them. He finds them again.

          

          
          He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban
          furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he
          uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ...

          

          
          He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor
          which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the
          sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him,
          waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the
          umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the
          contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes
          one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very
          close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The
          light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling
          him toward her, frightened.

          

          

           GIRL
           (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross!

          

          

           9

          

           HARRY
           Sorry . . .

           GIRL
           I'll tell you when!

           HARRY
           Thank you very much.

          

          

          

          

          7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING.


          

          
          They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but
          almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well.
          They reach the other sidewalk.
          Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time,
          intrigued and curious.

          

          

           HARRY
           I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along
           with me?

          

          
          The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and
          inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like.

          

          

          

          

          8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY.


          

          
          Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can
          read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends
          up accepting.

          

          

           GIRL

          

          

           10

          
           But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not
           like it!

           HARRY
           You will only have to browse.

          

          

          

          

          9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY.


          

          
          The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little
          light.

          

          

           GIRL
           Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can
           read... It's too dark in here.

           HARRY
           Oh, yes... Turn the light on...

          

          
          The Girl turns on a table lamp.
          Cut to.

          

          
          Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair.
          She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she
          directs a brief but intense glance at Harry.
          She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the
          blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a
          few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself:

          

          

           GIRL
           Ernesto Martel is dead!

           HARRY
           Who?

          

          

           11

          

           GIRL
           Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters...

           HARRY
           So he's dead.

           GIRL
           You knew him?

           HARRY
           No...

          

          
          Turns more pages.

          

          

           GIRL
           What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture?

           HARRY
           I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you
           mind describing yourself?

          

          
          The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative.
          (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.)
          She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin.
          How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she
          speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we
          see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her
          watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural.

          

          
          Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his
          hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just
          described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until
          they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man
          could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on
          the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor

          

          

           12

          
          her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it,
          doesn't pick up.

          

          
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY.


          

          
          They make love on the sofa.
          Cut to.

          

          
          The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its
          direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl
          heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins
          to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry.

          

          

          

          

          11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY.


          

          
          The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key
          is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside.
          Someone is opening it.
          Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already
          open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who
          had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence).
          Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door
          slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he
          cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles.

          

          

           JUDIT
           What are you laughing at?

          

          

           13

          

           HARRY
           I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking
           at me.

          

          
          The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts
          Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl.
          Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt
          to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very
          brief silence:

          

          

           GIRL
           (To Harry) I must go.

           HARRY
           Thanks for helping me cross.

          

          
          Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal
          and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted
          in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the
          key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman.
          The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes.

          

          

          

          

          12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY.


          

          
          Once alone:

           JUDIT
           (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems
           she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone.

           HARRY
           She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to
           read me the newspaper . . .

          

          

           14

          

           JUDIT
           Harry, you can't bring into your house the first
           person who helps you across the street. One of these
           days something awful will happen to you!

           HARRY
           (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to
           happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to
           enjoy life . . .

          

          
          Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She
          turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to
          the terrace.

          

          

           JUDIT
           Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script.

           HARRY
           I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be
           necessary, but I'd like to write it.

           JUDIT
           I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the
           producer and director today.

           HARRY
           You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry.

          

          
          As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use
          of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he
          walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given
          piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain
          whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the
          characteristic rigidity of blind people.

          

          

          

          

           15

          
          He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper
          is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a
          moment, and then turns toward the window.

          

          

          

          

          13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S

          STREET. EXT. DAY.


          

          
          She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the
          main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys
          his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an
          important Modeling Agency.

          

          

          RETURN TO SEQ. 12

          

          
          Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she
          hears him say:

          

          

           HARRY
           Ernesto Martel has died.

          

          
          Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice.

          

          

           JUDIT
           I think he was very ill...

           HARRY
           It's been so long since we've spoken of him!

          

          
          Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death
          doesn't bring good memories to either of them.

          

          

          

          

           16

          

          14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED.


          

          
          The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's
          typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years
          old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm.
          Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks
          delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age.
          He greets his mother.

          

          

           JUDIT
           You look awful ...!

           DIEGO
           I ran here.

           HARRY
           And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me.
           We are not in a hurry.

           JUDIT
           I am, I've committed ...

           HARRY
           You'll have it by tonight, don't worry.

           JUDIT
           Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of
           horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's
           what sells best ...

           HARRY
           I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of
           developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son...

           JUDIT
           (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn?

           HARRY

          

          

           17

          
           Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge
           Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally
           handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even
           mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him
           publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him
           placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of
           him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn
           and to make an almost normal life for himself. He
           lived in an apartment with other friends and he found
           a job as a clerk in a supermarket...

          

          
          Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back
          turned. This happens many times.

          

          

           JUDIT
           And Miller never saw him? ...

           HARRY
           (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was
           giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded
           man, who had been condemned to death, after what was
           believed to be a forced confession. Among those
           present was his mentally handicapped son, who was
           integrally involved with organizations that aided all
           sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to
           finally be sharing something with his father. At the
           end of the conference, he approached the stage and
           held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless
           to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract
           himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine,
           it would not have been politically correct, least of
           all given the situation in which Miller found himself.
           Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am

           18

          
           your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!"
           This was the only time father and son saw each other.

          

          
          Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if
          she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in
          order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She
          wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative.

          

          

           JUDIT
           (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think
           we can write a script about Arthur Miller without
           procuring rights from the family.

           HARRY
           We change the names, the story is not about the
           writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the
           son who survives without the least bit of rancor
           toward the father who has ignored him his entire life.
           It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent
           goodness. There aren't those many good men that one
           can write about.

          

          
          Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script
          this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off
          rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered,
          until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just

          RIGHT:

          

          

           JUDIT
           It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began
           writing again and I began selling your scripts, you
           told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor
           biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film

           19

          
           directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly
           because the part of the biopics surprised me.

           (SMILES)

           HARRY
           I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment
           remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but
           this wouldn't exactly be a biopic...

          

          
          They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the
          best way to escape the conversation.

          

          

           JUDIT
           I'll get it.

          

          
          Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other
          side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for
          Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And
          he sits in front of Diego.

          

          

           HARRY
           Diego, go to the end of the document.

          

          
          Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she
          opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's
          text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen.

          

          
          At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also
          has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags.
          Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the
          kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned ,
          etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple
          "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!"

           20

          

          15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH.


          

          
          Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three
          night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary.
          He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most
          of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access.
          Alex, his same age, enters.

          

          

           DIEGO
           Did you bring me the session?

          

          
          Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket.

          

          

           ALEX
           It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule.

           DIEGO
           Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to
           drink?

           ALEX
           Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"?

           DIEGO
           I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while.

          

          

          

          

          16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT

          

          
          At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer,
          sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the
          keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents

          

          

           21

          
          can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search
          produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes
          mistakes, but that's the way to do it.
          He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a
          list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens
          to the headline.

          

          
          The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him.

          

          

          

          

          17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT.


          

          
          It's Judit, from her office.
          In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is
          the head of production and someone from the American production. They
          are trying to decide on the budget.
          From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the
          cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for
          many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting
          schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in
          the background.
          (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel)
          She greets Harry.

          

          

           JUDIT
           You need anything?

           MATEO
           No, thanks.

           JUDIT
           What are you up to?

          

          

          

          

           22

          
          Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital
          newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to
          listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be
          doing next.

          

          

           HARRY
           I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3.

           JUDIT
           Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I
           can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as
           soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ...
           (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can
           continue tommorow...

          

          
          Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is
          when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased
          financier.
          Fade to black.
          During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In
          voice-off.

          

          

           OFF
           Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the
           countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean
           origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due
           to his involvement in the financing of crucial public
           infrastructures in different Latin American countries.

          

          

          18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990.


          

          

          

          

           23

          
          A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name
          of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the
          action takes place, 1990.

          

          

          19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY.


          

          
          The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel
          himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last
          words of his obituary, in off.

          

          

           OFF
           Recently he had been involved in various financial
           scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous
           "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times,
           and had two children...

          

          
          The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and
          decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can
          witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to
          bud.
          Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation
          with the Transportation Minister.
          Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him
          with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one
          another. They have different mothers.
          The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the
          avant-garde group El Paso.

          

          

           ERNESTO
           ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things
           are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas

          

          

           24

          
           metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years.
           I am looking for a qualified company and had you in
           mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have
           been told so by the President himself.

          

          
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES.

          INT. DAY. 1990.


          

          
          On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by
          modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees.
          His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the
          phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems.
          In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so
          (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and
          responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful
          woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its
          mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the
          lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more
          with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for.
          Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir,
          brought up to date. She possesses the turbulent and at once
          translucent beauty of Gene Tierney and the bored disdain of Linda
          Darnell (in "Fallen Angels"). Lena is a splendid fallen angel.
          We can't hear what she says, but judging from her reaction, the
          content of her conversation is dramatic. Her eyes flash with
          indignation and anger.

          

          

          RETURN TO 19.

          

          

          

           25

          
          Ernesto Martel calls Lena, his personal secretary, by way of an
          internal line.

          

          

          RETURN TO 20.

          

          
          Magdalena interrupts her conversation with "I'll call you later", as
          the indicator lights up, announcing another call on the line. She
          pushes on the button corresponding to that phone call and she hears
          her boss' voice summoning her. "Yes, sir", she responds, promptly.
          She gets up from the table. She dries her eyes and nose with a
          Kleenex, grabs a pen and a rectangular writing block and heads to
          Ernesto Martel's office.

          

          

          

          

          21. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. INT. DAY. 1990


          

          
          Despite the fact that he's dealing in grand-scale business, there are
          few documents for him to consult on his desk. It gives the sense that
          for the most important part of his job (grand scale speculation),
          Ernesto deals directly. He is the great intermediary without
          intermediaries.

          

          
          Magdalena enters. He invites her to take a seat. She complies
          without altogether controlling her nervousness; professionally
          detached, she attempts to hide the tension that the recent, and
          truncated, telephone conversation has caused her.

          

          

           ERNESTO
           I will dictate a letter for the Minister of Industry...

          

          

          

          

           26

          
          Magdalena opens her writing pad, ready to write, looking serious. Her
          pen drops to the floor. Ernesto M. observes her.

          

          

           ERNESTO
           Are you alright?

           MAGDALENA
           (As she picks it up) Yes, thank you.

          

          
          But it's not true. Lena looks agitated, despite her efforts to hide
          it.

          

          

           ERNESTO
           Why don't you tell me what's wrong? I'm sure I could
           help you.

          

          
          Lena looks at him, serious and hurt:

          

          

           MAGDALENA
           My father is very ill. This afternoon they are
           releasing him and I wanted to ask you if I could leave
           an hour early to go pick him and my mother up.

           ERNESTO
           Of course. What's wrong with him?

           MAGDALENA
           Stomach cancer, metastasized.

           ERNESTO
           I am really sorry.

          

          

          

          

          22. SURROUNDINGS AND ENTRANCE, PUERTA DE HIERRO HOSPITAL. EXT.


          DAY. 1990

          

           27

          
          It's a hot and sunny afternoon at the end of July. Lena arrives
          inside a taxi to the entrance of Puerta de Hierro Hospital. On the
          sidewalk, next to the entryway, her mother awaits, (chubby, tired,
          defenseless and impatient, she's around sixty) next to her, a suitcase
          and a huge plastic bag full of clothes. The mother is a small-town
          woman, dignified and beaten. The shock provoked by the situation has
          liberated her, if only momentarily, from falling into desperation.

          

          
          Through the car's window, Lena can see her mother on the sidewalk, and
          her ailing Father (a man in his sixties, very debilitated and aged),
          sitting on a sofa in the foyer.

          

          
          Lena tells the cab-driver to wait, and runs toward her mother. They
          kiss.

          

          

           LENA
           I can't believe they have thrown you out of the
           hospital, like dogs...

           MOTHER
           (Humiliated, hurt) Yes, honey, yes...

           LENA
           (Indignant) Does Dr. Alvaro de la Torre know this?

          

          
          The mother gestures for them to get away from the door, that way the
          Father cannot see them.

          

          

           MOTHER
           He's been the one...

           LENA
           But how? If he was going to operate him this week,
           and last week, and the other week...

           MOTHER

          

          

           28

          
           I couldn't explain on the phone. (She recounts) Dr.
           De la Torre called us for an appointment. I though it
           would be to tells us that they were finally going to
           operate on your father... but instead he tells us they
           are releasing him. (In disbelief) I asked him what
           he meant and he replied: "quite simple, it's July and
           I am leaving for my vacation" (as her story moves
           forward the mother relives the same states of mind
           that she went through in her conversation with the
           doctor) And I told him, "you are throwing us out onto
           the street?" and he insisted, without the least bit
           of compassion, "I am releasing him so that you can go
           home", but "what can I do with him at home in his
           condition?". "That's your problem" he told me (she
           cries), "do whatever you like, I am leaving on
           vacation". "He is dying!" I begged. "Well, let him
           die in peace, at home", he said to me.

          

          

           LENA
           (Powerless, furious) It cannot be! They can't keep
           him for twenty days, torturing him with tests in
           preparation for an operation and now leave him like
           this, just because the doctor is leaving on vacation!

          

          
          The Mother looks at her without knowing what to say. She takes a
          small handkerchief to her nose.

          

          

           LENA
           Have you protested?...

           MOTHER
           To who? Dr. De la Torre is the head surgeon. There
           is no one over him.

           29

          
          Lena refuses to accept the situation.
          The father appears through the doors of the hospital entrance,
          exhausted. He leans down to catch his breath. With a weak voice,
          almost inaudible, he says to them:

          

          

           FATHER
           Did you forget about me?

          

          
          Lena and the mother approach him, almost jubilant, hiding their sense
          of helplessness and frustration.

          

          

           LENA
           (Her eyes welled up with tears, she gathers her last
           bit of strength) How could you think that Dad!

          

          
          Between the two women they help the father to the taxi that is waiting
          for them nearby. They put him in the car. The man can hardly walk.
          He is very thin, his bones jut out from under his ashen skin. He
          walks crouched over.
          The taxi pulls off.

          

          

          

          

          23. PERIPHERAL HIGHWAY, MADRID. INSIDE THE TAXI. HIGHWAY. DAY.

          

          

           FATHER
           You know what Dr. De la Torre told me before he broke
           the news?

          

          
          He falters. He is too exhausted to speak.

          

          

          

          

           30

          

           FATHER
           (To the Mother) You tell her, Paca.

           MOTHER
           He said: I am glad you are not still in the service,
           Emilio.

           LENA
           (Not understanding)Why?

           MOTHER
           "Because if you were still in the service, after what
           I am going to tell you, you'd shoot me..."

          

          
          Lena stares, completely wide-eyed with amazement.

          

          

           LENA
           He really said that?

           FATHER
           Yes... and he was smiling, he thought it was funny...

          

          

          24. PERIPHERAL NEIGHBORHOOD. EXT. DAY. 1990.


          

          
          The taxi parks in front of a humble building, in one of those outlying
          neighborhoods in the periphery of Madrid, a commuter town. Children,
          women, street ambience. It's like a provincial town, transported to a
          huge city that is in the midst of merciless development. At that hour
          there are few people on the street.

          

          
          The passage between this sequence and the next happens through the
          doors of the car and the apartment, respectively.
          The Father exits, aided by Lena and the Mother, when the door to the
          taxi closes it's the door to the apartment that shuts, with all three
          characters inside the entry hall.

          

          

           31

          

          25. LENA'S PARENTS' HOME. INT. DAY. 1990.


          

          
          Lena locks the door from inside. It's a humble and small apartment,
          Magdalena and her mother situate the man on the bed in the master
          bedroom, in the most comfortable way possible.

          

          
          The décor reflects the bad taste of the era, especially of that social
          class, here and there a certain rural detail stands out. Antique
          photographs of the grandparents. Photographs of the Father in his
          policeman uniform, next to the Mother.
          Over the headboard, there is a crucifix on the wall and perhaps a
          thick, wooden rosary. Religious images on the nighstands. Attention
          placed on the bedspread, the curtains, the dresser, the closet and the
          walls. Everything is new, ugly period furniture. The effect
          generated is of a somber kitsch.

          

          
          Lena opens a dresser drawer, on top of it sits the picture of the
          father in his policeman uniform, with the Mother. She finds a Star
          9mm pistol. She grabs it and tries its weight, the mother sees her
          and tells her to leave the weapon in its place. (Perhaps at that very
          moment the mother is injecting the Father with morphine).
          Cut to.
          In the dinning hall, Lena hands her mother money so that she can buy
          food and her father's medications.

          

          

           LENA
           Call me any time, no matter what it is!

          

          

          

          

           32

          
          The light that shines through the windows, covered with curtains of an
          indefinite but slightly brilliant pattern, begins to fade.
          Mother and daughter kiss.

          

          

          

          

          25 A. LENA INSIDE A TAXI RETURNING TO MADRID. NIGHT.

          

          
          While Lena was at her parent's apartment, night fell.
          Lena departs lost in her thoughts, she can't shake off her parents'
          situation. She shifts her eyes. She must find a solution, urgently.
          She lights a cigarette. She looks at her wristwatch. She seems to
          have made a decision. She looks out the window. She finds the inter-
          urban landscape desolating.

          

          

          

          

          25 B. NEIGHBORHOOD: PROSPERIDAD, VALLEGAS OR LA LATINA. EXT.


          NIGHT.

          

          
          The taxi stops in front of the building where Lena lives. She exits
          the taxi and opens the door.

          

          

          

          

          26. LENA'S HOME. (NEIGHBORHOOD: PROSPERIDAD, VALLEGAS OR LA

          LATINA). INT. NIGHT. 1990.


          

          
          Lena enters her apartment. A tiny studio, but charming. No sooner
          has she dropped all that she is carrying, than she heads to the phone
          and makes a call. The décor is agreeable. Little money, but well
          spent. A poster of Hitchcock's "Vertigo" dominates one of the walls,
          or a framed photochrom of Kim Novak in the film. There may be another

          

          

          

           33

          
          film reference (Jean Seberg and Romy Schneider). Lena, secretly, is a
          cinephile.

          

          

          

          

          27. MADAME MYLENE'S DEN. 1990. INT. NIGHT.


          27. A. LENA'S HOME. INT. NIGHT.


          

          
          (Alternating between both spaces)
          Madame Mylene is a blonde woman, very dressed up, older (between fifty
          and seventy), has had plastic surgery, and has not renounced her
          womanhood. Despite the quality of her attire, her makeup and her
          jewels, there is something about her appearance that is unequivocally
          sinister and heartless. While she speaks she has a drink and smokes a
          cigar. A man of "professional" appearance keeps her company. It's
          the den of a high-class Madame. The den seems more practical than
          feminine.

          

          

           LENA
           Madame Mylene? Hello, it's Severine.

           MADAME MYLENE
           Severine! It's been so long! I'm so happy to hear from
           you.

           LENA
           I need money.

           MADAME SEVERINE
           How soon?

           LENA
           Now! My weekend's free. I am busy during the week.

           MADAME MYLENE
           I'll see what I can do. May I call tonight if I find
           something?

          

          

           34

          
          Her tone gives it away that she won't have the slightest problem
          "finding something" for Lena.

          

          

           LENA
           Yes. I'll wait for your call.

          

          
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          28. LENA'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. 1990.


          

          
          The telephone rings. Lena has her hair down, she has put makeup on
          (in excess). She looks more attractive, but the makeup also gives her
          a harder edge. She covers herself with a robe. She immediately grabs
          the phone. She seems like a different woman, worldly and nocturnal.

          

          

           LENA
           Yes?

           OFF ERNESTO MARTEL
           Severine?

           LENA
           (On alert) Who is it?

          

          

          

          

          29. LIVING ROOM, ERNESTO M.'S MANSION. INT. NIGHT.


          

          
          We see Ernesto Martel, speaking on the phone, in one of the living
          rooms of his mansion. He is dressed to go out, a drink in his hand.
          He is alone, his tone is that of a man courting a woman.

          

          

          

          

           35

          

           ERNESTO MARTEL
           I am calling on Madame Mylene's behalf.

          

          
          Lena recognizes the voice, there is no doubt it's his. Despite the
          shock she manages to bluff, categorical and quick:

          

          

           LENA
           (Slightly altering her voice) You've made a mistake,
           sir. No Severine lives here.

          

          
          Ernesto Martel doesn't believe her, but he plays along.

          

          

           ERNESTO MARTEL
           I must have dialed wrong. Excuse me.

          

          
          Lena hangs up, confused and irritated.
          Calls again.

          

          

          

          

          30. LENA'S HOME. INT. NIGHT AND


          31. MADAME MYLENE'S DEN. INT. NIGHT. 1990


          

          
          Lena dials Madame Mylene's number

          

          

           MADAME
           Hi! Has he already called?

           LENA
           Who?

           MADAME
           The client! You will not complain about my speediness!

           LENA

          

          

           36

          
           (Furious) But... how have you given him my number?!

           MADAME
           I couldn't say no.

           LENA
           Things aren't done like that! Have you gone mad!?

           MADAME
           He knows everything. And I haven't been the one to
           tell him, he found out on his own account, he knows
           about your foray into acting, and that you sometimes
           "acted" for me...

          

          
          Lena listens, furious and impotent.

          

          

           MADAME
           Months ago he made me promise him that if you got back
           in contact with me I would call him. I couldn't say
           no, he is one of my best clients.

           LENA
           You bitch!

           MADAME
           (Unmoved) Look on the bright side. He must really
           like you to go to the lengths he has... Perhaps you've
           found your Sugar Daddy.

          

          
          Lena remains in silence, humiliated, cornered.

          

          

           MADAME
           What have you agreed on? Remember I am part of the
           business.

          

          
          Lena doesn't respond. She hangs up the telephone.

          

          

           37

          

          32. LENA'S HOME. INT. DAY. 1990.


          

          

          IN THE MORNING.

          

          
          Magdalena is sleeping in her bed. The phone wakes her. It's her
          mother, in the middle of a crying fit and panic attack.

          

          

           LENA
           (Wakes up, suddenly, frightened) How is Dad?

           MOTHER
           (Crying) Not well at all, my dear. We've been through
           a hellish night. He has not eaten anything. But he
           won't stop bleeding... and everything is coming up...
           it's as if he has burst inside.

          

          
          The mother speech falters, she is very scared...

          

          

           LENA
           I will be there with an ambulance immediately. Be
           ready to leave!

          

          
          Before she calls an ambulance, Lena calls Ernesto Martel. They greet
          each other. Ernesto does not pretend to be surprised, he comes across
          cordially. He thinks this may be the continuation of their phone call
          from the previous night.

          

          

           LENA
           Mr. Martel? It's Lena.

           ERNESTO
           (Delighted) Good morning, Lena.

          

          

           38

          

           LENA
           I am sorry to bother you...

           ERNESTO
           (Gallantly) You are never a bother.

           LENA
           My father is dying. We must admit him urgently, but I
           don't know where. As I told you, they released him
           from Puerta de Hierro yesterday.

          

          
          Ernesto changes his tone. Now he is an all-powerful man, generous and
          with every recourse at his fingertips.

          

          

           ERNESTO
           Don't worry. We will take him to the Emergency Room
           at a private clinic. (Wanting to confirm) You told
           me that he has stomach cancer...

           LENA
           Yes.

           ERNESTO
           (Thinking) The best digestive surgeon in Europe is at
           the Clinica de la Luz. I will take care of the
           admittance issue. Call an ambulance and tell them to
           pick up your parents. I'll meet you at the Clinica de
           la Luz in an hour...

           LENA
           (Plainly, but grateful) Thank you very much.

          

          
          Even though neither one of them mentions the phone conversation of the
          night before, it is present on both of their minds.

          

          

          

          

          33. MADRID STREETS. EXT. DAY. 1990


           39

          
          An ambulance traverses Madrid at full speed.

          

          

          

          

          34. SURROUNDINGS AND ENTRANCE TO CLINICA DE LA LUZ. EXT. DAY.


          1990

          

          
          It arrives to the Emergency ward at the Clinica de la Luz. They carry
          Lena's father in a stretcher, her mother alongside him.

          

          

          

          

          35. CLINICA DE LA LUZ. HALLWAYS. INT. DAY. 1990


          

          
          One of the hospital's hallways.
          The Mother, Lena and Ernesto are waiting together on a row of chairs
          next to a door. Dr. Blasco emerges, an eminent Surgeon Specialist.
          An impenetrable man, he doesn't mince words. Getting information from
          him is like pulling teeth. He is polite, but not accommodating in the
          slightest.

          

          

           ERNESTO
           How's the patient?

           SURGEON
           You have brought him in terrible conditions... Which I
           suppose you know.

          

          
          The mother affirms with a gesture.

          

          

           ERNESTO
           (With good manners, but authoritarian) Will you be
           able to save him?

          

          

           40

          

           SURGEON
           We will do everything possible... at this very moment
           it is impossible to operate...

          

          
          Lena and the Mother look at both men, anxiously.

          

          

           SURGEON
           Perhaps tomorrow. We are providing parenteral
           nutrition... He will need a blood transfusion...
           (Looks at both women) Do you have any relatives who
           can donate?

           LENA
           Well, here... I don't know...

          

          
          The Mother also doesn't know what to say.

          

          

           ERNESTO
           Give him the best blood you've got!

           SURGEON
           I will keep you updated on his condition in the next
           hours... (He says goodbye to them)

           MOTHER
           May I stay?

           SURGEON
           Yes, of course. You can stay in his room as long as
           you wish.

          

          
          The Mother is not accustomed to so many privileges.
          The doctor says goodbye to Ernesto Martel and the women, mechanically.

          

          

          

          

          36. HALLWAYS CLINICA DE LA LUZ. INT. DAY. 1990


           41

          
          When the three are alone the Mother thanks Ernesto Martel for what he
          has done for them. She looks at her daughter, in a knowing way, as if
          she understands (and accepts, what else can she do!) the situation.

          

          

           LENA
           I'll stay here, Mom. You have to rest...

           MOTHER
           (With strength, but beaten) No, you rest... You've
           already done enough... Thank you very much, Mr. Ernesto.
           If my husband survives, it will be thanks to you.

           ERNESTO
           He will survive, ma'am.

           LENA
           Really, you don't want me to stay? Or that I bring you
           something?

           MOTHER
           No, go. You both must have things to do...

          

          
          Lena complies. In effect, there is something urgent she must do: pay
          the price for all those privileges. To pay the cost of her father's
          life.
          Ernesto and Lena walk to the other end of the hallway. Before she
          enters the room, the Mother bids farewell to them with a look that's
          sad, tired, but of fortitude.
          The two figures slowly recede down the hallway, until they disappear
          in a
          Fade to black.

          

          

          

          

          37. MATEO-HARRY'S HOME. RETURN TO 2008. INT. DAY.


          

          

           42

          
          From black.
          The door to Harry's apartment. The doorbell rings. The house is
          completely dark. Harry moves with his characteristic naturalness.
          He is coming from the bathroom, his hair wet and wearing a robe.
          He feels around until he finds the peephole. He opens it and reaches
          his eye toward it, as if he could really see the person on the other
          side. He is not waiting for anyone, so he hopes the visitor will
          think he is watching, even if he can't see a thing.

          

          

           HARRY
           (From inside) Who is it?

          

          
          A voice on the other side of the door responds:

          

          

           RAY X
           I'm Ray X ...

           HARRY
           Ray X? There's no such a name.

           RAY X
           It's a nickname, at one time I took a lot of ecstasy.

           HARRY
           What do you want?

           RAY X
           To write a script with you, so that I can direct it.

           HARRY
           It's your first film?

           RAY X
           I made a documentary (naïve) ... a very good one,
           eighteen years ago, this would be my first fiction
           film.

           HARRY

           43

          
           OK. Call Judit Garcia, my agent, and explain
           everything. If she finds it suitable, she will set up
           a date for us. And now, I'd like to go dry myself, you
           pulled me out of the shower and I am dripping wet.

           RAY X
           (The words escape) You are naked?

           HARRY
           It's none of your business.

          

          
          Ray does not move. Neither does Harry. They both remain still and
          mute on their respective sides of the door, waiting for the other to
          do something. Ray is mortified about having asked the last question.

          

          

           HARRY
           Will you stand there all day?

           RAY X
           You haven't given me Judit Garcia's phone number.

           HARRY
           Find it out. She is a well-known Production Director.

          

          
          This time Ray steps away from the door and walks toward the elevator.
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          38. HARRY'S HOME. 2008. INT. DAY


          

          
          At another point in the day.

          

          
          Harry plays music (a CD with songs that Diego has selected for him,
          expressly), he looks after the bonsai, or he waters the plants while

          

          

          

          

           44

          
          he listens to the radio. Harry touches the plants as well as the
          bonsai delicately, with the tip of his fingers.
          The phone rings.

          

          

           OFF JUDIT
           Hi Harry. It's me.

           HARRY
           Tell me.

           OFF JUDIT
           A young director has been in contact with me. His
           name is Ray X and he wants to write a script with you...
           Does this ring a bell?

           HARRY
           Yes... (He is about to tell her he showed up without
           notice, but Judit doesn't give him time to).

           JUDIT
           (Since she is always busy and in a hurry) Well, he
           wants to see you this afternoon, or tomorrow, if you
           can. I have asked him for an advance and he has
           accepted, but I cannot accompany you either today or
           tomorrow...

           HARRY
           I will speak to him... and let you know.

           JUDIT
           Good, I hope you like him, he seems to be loaded.

           HARRY
           Have you seen him?

           JUDIT
           No, just judging from his voice. And from the check I
           am about to ask him for. I will send Diego over so
           that you're not alone.

          

          

           45

          
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          39. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. INT. DAY. 2008


          

          
          (The next morning, Harry wears different clothes than in the previous
          sequence and Ray X as well.)

          

          
          The doorbell rings. It's Ray X. Mariacruz opens the door. Harry
          waits for him while seated at his desk, one can hear the noises his
          computer generates.
          Ray X heads toward the den and introduces himself.
          Harry stretches his hand and waits for the other man to find it and
          shake it.

          

          

           RAY X
           Hi, I'm Ray X.

          

          
          They shake hands.

          

          

           HARRY
           Hello Mr. X. Please, have a seat...

           RAY X
           Please, don't address me formally.

          

          
          (Perhaps the kitchen is lit and only the light from the window enters
          the area where the conversation is taking place).
          Ray watches Harry inquisitively. He observes everything, the
          furniture, the wall-hangings and Harry's own body, shamelessly, taking
          advantage of the fact that Harry cannot see him.
          Mateo senses the heat of his visitor's gaze over his body.

          

          

           46

          
          Ray is thirty-five years old and his physique is somewhere between
          freakish and bohemian but expensively dressed, hard to classify, thin,
          with a beard. Only when he speaks he reveals his well-bred origin
          (not excessively, nor parodically, just sufficiently evocative). He
          is excited by the very fact of being there, it seems it is something
          he has been desiring for some time.
          He takes advantage of the fact that Harry cannot see him in order to
          observe him without reserve.
          During the conversation, Harry is not always sitting. At some point
          he moves (to look for cigarettes, perhaps) and remains standing.

          

          

           RAY
           I love your work, I know it from the start.

           HARRY
           Thank you.

           RAY
           I have seen all of Mateo Blanco's films, including the
           last one, "Girls and Suitcases".

           HARRY
           Is that so? You must be the only one.

          

          

          

          

          40. HARRY'S HOME. VESTIBULE AND KITCHEN. INT. DAY. 2008.


          

          
          At this exact moment, Diego enters. Mariacruz opens the door for him.
          Just in time to hear Ray's question.

          

          

           RAY
           What happened to Mateo Blanco?

           HARRY

          

          

           47

          
           Why do you ask?

          

          

          

          

          40 A.

          

          
          Diego goes to the kitchen. Harry has heard him, he knows he's there,
          if he hasn't called him it's because he doesn't need him.

          

          

           RAY
           Because he vanished from public life...

           HARRY
           It would seem that way.

           RAY
           Almost as if he'd died.

           HARRY
           Yes . . . (Ironically) I lost track of him some time ago.

           RAY
           I've always been intrigued by the case of his last film.

           HARRY
           Whose?

           RAY
           Mateo Blanco's. The first five are stupendous. You
           were the screenwriter for all of them, how do you
           explain that the last one was a disaster?

           HARRY
           (Made uncomfortable by the topic) Films turn out well
           or badly. The reason is always a mystery. (Mateo
           switched genres, perhaps he wasn't skilled for
           comedy). But tell me about the story you want to
           write.

          

          

          

          

           48

          
          Ray X measures his words, it's very important to him and he doesn't
          want to do so hastily.

          

          

           RAY
           ... I would like to write a story about a son's revenge,
           one against the memory of his father.

           HARRY
           Why does the son desire revenge?

           RAY
           (Speaking personally) Because the father ruined his
           life, practically nullifying him while he lived. The
           father is a successful financier, violent, homophobic,
           very powerful and unscrupulous. He thinks everyone
           has a price and that's how he behaves with people. I
           don't know if you've had the misfortune of meeting
           someone like this...

          

          
          Harry does not allay his doubt.

          

          

           HARRY
           When you say he is powerful, what kind of power are
           you referring to?

           RAY X
           Economic, with everything that entails. He is a
           broker, of the generation of speculators that made
           quick, high-profit gains in the 80s; he amassed a
           great fortune during the oil crisis. The son is
           sensitive, with complexes and artistic preoccupations,
           and lives under his shadow, trying to please the
           father in everything. Despite being a bit...
           homosexual, the son marries twice, just like the
           father, and, just like him, he separates. He has a

           49

          
           son that hates him just as much as he hates his own
           father. When the father dies, the son is finally able
           to rebuild his life. That is his salvation and his
           revenge.

          

          

           HARRY
           I get it. I am afraid I am not the writer you are
           looking for.

           RAY X
           You are, you don't know how much!

          

          
          Harry registers what he has just heard.

          

          

           RAY X
           I will pay whatever you ask.

           HARRY
           It's too personal.

           RAY X
           Make it yours. I am not aiming for a biopic, rather,
           I think of it as a base from which to develop a
           fiction.

           HARRY
           Thanks, but no. (He rises) And now, if you don't mind...

          

          

          

          

          41. CONTINUED.

          

          
          He calls Diego. The boy responds in that instant, he was in the
          kitchen, waiting for Harry to call him.
          Ray X will not give up, so he writes his telephone number on a piece
          of paper and places it in his hand.

          

          

           50

          

           RAY X
           There you have my phone number, if you change your mind.

          

          
          Harry is still standing, with the piece of paper in his hand. Diego
          observes both men.
          Ray gets up.

          

          

           RAY X
           I am sure we will see each other again.

           HARRY
           In my case, that would be a miracle.

          

          
          Diego accompanies him to the door. And closes it behind him.
          Harry opens his desk's drawer and places the piece of paper with Ray's
          telephone number inside. He rummages through the drawer's interior
          until he finds a key. He grabs it.

          

          

          

          

          42. CONTINUED.

          

          
          Harry and Diego are now alone, in the den. Ruminating over Ray X's
          visit and the story he was proposing Harry.

          

          

           HARRY
           Did you overhear that?

           DIEGO
           Yes... I'm flipping out! Why did he ask you if Mateo
           had died?

           HARRY

          

          

          

          

           51

          
           To provoke me... I don't know... Help me find
           something... (he points toward the drawers at the
           bottom of the bookcase and he hands him the key to
           open one of them) Look inside that drawer.

          

          
          Diego opens the drawer with the key Harry has given him. The drawer
          is full of different groups of photographs and various objects mixed
          in a certain order. There is a black notebook. A box with Mexican
          handicrafts. Some 1980s postcards as well some from other decades,
          some movie postcards, some others of exotic landscapes... Some of the
          groups of photographs are sorted into envelopes, boxes or transparent
          binders. For Diego it's like looking into a treasure chest. It has
          been many years since that drawer has been opened. This was out of
          respect, not from lack of curiosity, Diego would never do so behind
          Harry's back.

          

          

           HARRY
           Look through the pictures of the `94 shoot. Some of
           the photographs must have the date on it.

          

          
          After tossing aside various envelopes, Diego finds a lot of
          photographs of the shooting, dated `94. He takes them out of their
          envelope.
          He shuffles through them, until he pauses at one.

          

          

           DIEGO
           I think this is him...

           HARRY
           Who?

           DIEGO
           The man who just left.

           HARRY

           52

          
           (Rising) Describe the picture to me.

           DIEGO
           It's from the shoot. (He looks at the box from where
           he's taken it). He is carrying a small camera, like a
           Super 8.

           HARRY
           It's a 16mm. Are you sure it's him?

           DIEGO
           He is now thinner and wears a beard, but it's him. He
           is talking to you.

           HARRY
           What am I saying?

           DIEGO
           I don't know. He is handing you something, it looks
           like a pack of cigarettes.

           HARRY
           It's a radio microphone. He is asking me to wear it
           and I am refusing it.

           DIEGO
           Who is he?

           HARRY
           Ernesto Martel's son.

          

          
          Harry is perturbed by the confirmation of his doubts. He would have
          preferred to be mistaken.

          

          

           HARRY
           (Serious and pensive) You can put them away now...

          

          
          Diego returns the different sets of photographs to their place, inside
          the drawer a photo appears of Lena's face, in close-up. It's the same
          woman who appears in sequences 20 through 36.

           53

          
          The drawer closes, darkness engulfs its interior, drowning Lena's
          image, soon reborn in the next sequence.

          

          

          

          

          43. HOME, ERNESTO MARTEL SENIOR. (1992)

          

          
          Out of the darkness, Lena's image emerges, the year is `92: A close-
          up of the woman, looking at herself in the mirror, touching up her
          makeup. She grabs a dress by a famous designer of the time and puts
          it on.

          

          
          A few meters away, in the bedroom, Ernesto buttons up his fly, after
          tucking in his shirt tail. The scene is that of a wealthy couple, who
          get along.
          They are preparing to attend a concert. Ernesto is a big fan of
          classical music.

          

          
          Lena looks rejuvenated and more refined. Her life and her facial skin
          have both improved since the first time we see her in Martel's office.
          The moles have disappeared from her face. Her demeanor is still adult,
          that of a young woman who has experienced life.

          

          
          Ernesto Martel frequently rests his gaze on her, fascinated, it's hard
          for him to believe that "such beauty" belongs to him.

          

          

          

          

          44. CONTINUED.

          

          
          The phone rings. Ernesto Senior picks up the handset. His relaxed
          countenance changes the second he hears the voice on the other end.

          

          

          

          

           54

          
          It's his second wife, whom he divorced years ago. He treats her with
          disregard.

          

          

           ERNESTO S.
           I can't talk now, Rosanna.

           OFF
           It's about your son. I have caught him trying on my
           dresses. And it's not the first time...

           ERNESTO S.
           It's your fault, you made him effeminate to humiliate me!

           OFF
           That's not the problem, the boy is very depressed,
           I've had to take him to a psychiatrist.

           ERNESTO S.
           Don't call him "boy". He is already seventeen.

           OFF
           The doctor has told me he is in need of a father
           figure... I think I am going to send him your way so
           that he can spend some time with you, after all you
           are his father.

           ERNESTO
           If I haven't been a good father in eighteen years, I
           don't think I can learn to be one precisely now.

           OFF
           How can you speak like that! Have you no feelings?

           ERNESTO
           (Looks at Lena, intently) I have them. Very deep
           feelings, they just don't include either of you.

          

          
          While he speaks, Lena consults him about the jewelry she is about to
          put on, she tries on different pairs of earrings for his approval,
          something he gives without pausing his phone conversation.

           55

          
          Lena makes a gesture of reproach. Ernesto should not speak to his ex-
          wife in that tone.

          

          

           OFF
           If anything happens to him, you'll know who's at fault.

           ERNESTO
           Stop blackmailing me, Rosanna. Tell Ernesto that if
           he wants to talk to me he should call me himself.

          

          
          Ernesto Martel Senior hangs up, bewildered.

          

          

          

          

          45. CONTINUED. 1992.

          

          

           LENA
           (In reprimand) Don't be so harsh with them, Ernesto!

          

          
          He sips from his drink, or he serves himself another one if he has
          already finished the first.

          

          

           ERNESTO
           Blackmailers!

           LENA
           Why don't you invite your son to spend a few days here?

           ERNESTO
           It'd be better if you didn't get involved with them,
           Lena.

          

          
           Ernesto takes a sip from his drink.

          

          

          

          

           56

          

           LENA
           He can keep me company... Does he like movies or theater?

          

          

          

          
          Ernesto Senior casts her a sideways glance.

          

          

           ERNESTO
           I don't know. But the mother has told me he is a bit
           faggot. If I ask him to come I would like for you to
           tell me if that's true... and whether you think there's
           any remedy...

           LENA
           And how would I know?! What an idea!

           ERNESTO
           I am not asking you to fuck him, but you good-looking
           girls can tell these things.

           LENA
           Call him, but you can't count on me for the rest.

          

          
          Ernesto approaches the telephone and dials a number.

          

          

          

          

          46. ERNESTO MARTEL'S MANSION. (2008). INT. NIGHT.


          

          
          Fourteen years later ­ in the same room, decorated differently, (more
          modern, more colorful), although it still retains some noble and
          timeless furniture pieces and the same layout ­ Ernesto Junior (we in
          effect confirm that this is Ray X) speaks on the telephone while
          getting dressed to leave for a party. In that very room, another man
          (young, handsome and ambitious) is getting dressed in front of a piece
          of furniture equipped with a mirror, at the very spot Lena had been

          

          

           57

          
          earlier. (This piece of furniture is not the same one as the one
          fourteen years earlier, this is a more masculine piece, the other one
          was a type of boudoir).

          

          

           OFF EX-WIFE
           I am not reproaching you for our separation but that
           you live with a man... What will your children think!

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           (On the phone) That their father is a homosexual (he
           gazes at his handsome boyfriend) and that he has very
           good taste. If they love me and you don't set them
           against me, they will accept it.

           OFF EX-WIFE
           You should have told me before we married!

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           If you hadn't been so exclusively concerned with my
           father's fortune you might have noticed it yourself.

          

          
          The ex-wife grumbles furiously. The beautiful boyfriend continues to
          dress and smiles at Ernesto.
          Another telephone rings.

          

          

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           I have to go, I have another call.

          

          

          

          

          47. ERNESTO SON'S MANSION. INT. NIGHT 2008


          47 A. JUDIT'S PRODUCTION OFFICE. INT. NIGHT.


          

          
           ERNESTO J.'s LOVER
           Will it be your other ex-wife?

          

          

           58

          

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           I hope not. (Into the headset) Yes?

           JUDIT
           (Dryly) It's Judit Garcia.

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           Oh, hello, Judit. (In an amiable tone) Did you get the
           money?

           JUDIT
           I don't want it! I just sent it back, Ernesto!

          

          
          She emphasizes his name.

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           You won't call me Ray? It's my artistic name...

           JUDIT
           Artistic? What are you up to?

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           Hoping to erase my father's name.

           JUDIT
           And what does that have to do with Harry?

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           I've been wanting to see him for a long time. And
           it's true that I want to shoot a movie and that I want
           him to write the script. (Looks at the boyfriend) I've
           got the protagonist.

          

          
          The boyfriend catches the allusion.

          

          

           JUDIT
           You are not a director!

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           You should take a look at my documentary, you'd change
           your mind.

           59

          

           JUDIT
           Ernesto, forget about us!

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           Don't be afraid of me. I am not my father.

           JUDIT
           Do not come near Harry again. If you ever stop by his
           house again I will report you for harassment.

          

          
          And she hangs up the phone. At that very moment Judit is in her office
          with the American production team. She apologizes and attempts to
          recover her calm before undertaking the subject of the meeting at
          hand.

          

          

          

          

          48. JUDIT'S HOME. JUDIT'S BEDROOM. INT. NIGHT. 2008


          

          
          The house is not very big, but it is large enough for two people.
          It's discretely feminine and very practical. The details indicate
          that an independent woman lives there, as well as a young-man, twenty-
          five years old. There is some detail of the décor (the curtains, for
          example) that is replicated in Harry's home. It is clear that Judit
          has had a hand in setting up the writer's home.

          

          
          Judit is packing her bags, she paces back and forth. She is a bit
          overwhelmed, with multiple thoughts crossing her mind. At times, she
          asks for Diego's help.

          

          

           JUDIT
           I am not at all pleased with having to scout outside
           Madrid, but the Americans pay a bundle and we need
           money.

          

          

           60

          

           DIEGO
           You can leave without concerns. Don't worry about me.

           JUDIT
           I am also worried for Harry. (Sounds more like an
           order than a request) Please, look after him during
           my absence...

           DIEGO
           (Protests) I have things to do, mom. I can't look
           after him all day.

           JUDIT
           It's only two weeks!

           DIEGO
           Harry manages perfectly on his own and right now we
           are not writing anything.

          

          
          Acknowledges the reason for her worry.

          

          

           JUDIT
           I am worried about Ernesto Junior's visit. I would
           like for you to be on guard in case he appears or
           calls and then let me know immediately!

           DIEGO
           Why are you so worried?

          

          
          Judit stops what she's doing, and takes a moment to take a deep
          breath.

          

          

           JUDIT
           He's crazy. I don't trust him.

           DIEGO
           Why?

           JUDIT

           61

          
           (Evasive) It's a long story.

           DIEGO
           (Persistent) Summarize it!

           JUDIT
           Diego, please, this is not the moment.

           DIEGO
           It never is for you!

           JUDIT
           (Exasperated) Hey, if it bothers you so much to look
           after Harry, I'll quit the job and stay in Madrid! Or
           I'll hire someone.

           DIEGO
           It doesn't bother me to look after Harry! But I am
           tired of so much secrecy!

          

          
          (It's a civilized encounter, no screaming. There is tension, but it
          is kept under control by both of them)

          

          

          

          

          49. IN A PUBLIC PARK AND ON THE STREET. EXT. DAY. 2008


          

          
          A public park. Diego and Harry are walking along a straight pathway.
          Kids, dogs, people jogging. It is a tranquil and pleasant place.
          Diego is in front, Harry is behind him, holding on to his elbow, (as
          reference), but it's Harry who is moving faster, pushing Diego from
          his elbow. The boy shows signs of exhaustion, he is wearing black
          sunglasses.

          

          

           DIEGO
           Don't go so fast!

           HARRY

          

          

           62

          
           We are exercising...

           DIEGO
           I'm not. I'm just keeping you company. How can you
           walk so fast?

           HARRY
           I am training and I don't work at night, nor do I drug
           myself.

           DIEGO
           (On guard) What do you mean by that?

           HARRY
           That I take care of myself, with the fanaticism of an
           older, handicapped person.

           DIEGO
           You are no fanatic.

           HARRY
           Yes, I am. All of us who survive a critical physical
           injury are. There is no other way.

          

          
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          50. CONTINUED. EXT. DAY.


          

          
          They exit the park. While they wait at a stop sign, a billboard
          catches Diego's attention. Half of the billboard is taken up by the
          motto: DONATE BLOOD. The names of participating ambulatory hospitals
          and their hours appear below.

          

          
          Harry can tell his company is distracted, so he asks him:

          

          

           HARRY

          

          

           63

          
           What are you looking at?

           DIEGO
           A billboard.

           HARRY
           Why so?

           DIEGO
           In huge letters it says "Donate Blood", it includes
           where one has to go.

           HARRY
           You want to donate blood?

           DIEGO
           No, no... I was thinking that "Donate Blood" is a good
           title for a movie...

           HARRY
           Yes. It has a good ring.

           DIEGO
           For a vampire flick.

          

          
          Harry finds it amusing. They walk toward home.

          

          

           HARRY
           It's true.

           DIEGO
           (Ironizing, kidding, improvising) Imagine that behind
           the billboard a whole group of vampires that work in
           ambulatory care are hiding... and they actually keep the
           blood they get from donors for their own consumption,
           of course...

           HARRY
           Your mother would like that story.

          

          
          Cut to.

           64

          

          51. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. 2008


          

          
          Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, is preparing something in the
          kitchen. Meanwhile, Diego and Mateo gather around the table. Diego
          sits in front of his laptop.

          

          
          Both of the characters are improvising, rapidly, and become
          increasingly excited, completing each other's sentences. They are
          having fun, as if playing a game. The sequence becomes a
          demonstration of the process of creating fiction, based on an trivial,
          real anecdote. (They will begin the sequence by opening a document.
          Diego writes the title in caps: DONATE BLOOD.)

          

          

           DIEGO
           The vampires would be like a type of ethnic group,
           completely assimilated into Spanish society, they
           don't stand out. There are vampires who occupy
           important positions, keeping it a secret (like the
           Opus Dei). But even though they live in the shadows,
           they have amassed great social and economic power...

           HARRY
           They control various industries. For example, the one
           responsible for dark sunglasses...

           DIEGO
           (Smiles) And those that provide nightly entertainment:
           bars, discos, after-hours... Since they don't need drugs
           to stay awake, they are the most apt for working at
           night. They don't burn out...

           HARRY

          

          

           65

          
           And for the sunscreen business. The poor things are
           very sensitive to climate change and to the holes in
           the ozone layer. Their sunscreens are some of the
           best on the market.

           DIEGO
           (Laughs) And those which sell best... This is all great...

          

          
          Diego talks and takes notes on his laptop. Harry paces back and
          forth, in front of the table, like a caged animal.

          

          

           HARRY
           Protected by the sunscreen, they can function all day...
           The lotion must be as dense as armour.

           DIEGO
           (More inspired) This is how the story could begin:
           (describes) A gorgeous woman, totally naked, rubbing
           her body with a super-dense lotion, before heading to
           work at an ambulatory hospital. Her body is a velvety
           pale, beautiful...

           HARRY
           (Continues) What a great opening! We also need a love
           story...

           DIEGO
           A hybrid love story, between the female vampire and a
           normal guy.

           HARRY
           Like in "Cat People", a love story between beings of
           different species...

           DIEGO
           She works at one of those labs where blood is donated
           and where they snatch it for themselves. The guy has
           gone to donate his, or to get some tests. They like

           66

          
          each other immediately. After the first needle prick
          into his vein, she gets completely excited. So, they
          start to date. But she doesn't want to turn him into
          a vampire... these aren't proselytizing vampires, they
          are above biting people... unless they truly need it to
          survive...

           HARRY
          But they must like sex, right?

           DIEGO
          Of course. That's one of the problems, the couple
          desire each other desperately. But when it comes to
          fucking, she becomes prudish...

           HARRY
          Why?

           DIEGO
          Because she is afraid of losing control in her
          excitement and taking a bite into his jugular...

           HARRY
          Aha.

           DIEGO
          When they're horny, she lets him do everything, front,
          back, whatever he wants, except ravaging her mouth.

           HARRY
          And her breasts?

           DIEGO
          Also... But that gets into high-risk territory. When
          he sucks on her breasts, she has to cover her mouth
          with a pillow, which she ends up shredding with her
          fangs...

           HARRY
          And when she sucks his dick?

           DIEGO

           67

          
           No, no sucking. She would tear it on the first bite.

           HARRY
           And how does he react? A man may do without kissing,
           but it's very rough not to have your cock sucked.

           DIEGO
           Since he is deeply in love, he accepts the situation
           (or gives up to it). Once they are more comfortable
           with each other, she wears a muzzle, as security for
           both. Because when she's turned on, she has a type of
           dental erection, her face grows into something like
           that of a she-wolf...

          

          
          Diego writes furiously, while cracking up.

          

          

           HARRY
           I like your story very much, Diego.

           DIEGO
           Our story.

           HARRY
           No. This one was your idea, and you'll author it.
           I'll be your sparring partner, for all the times
           you've done the same for me...

          

          
          Harry is welcoming him as a writer. This fact doesn't escape the boy,
          he feels an unexpected pride.

          

          

          

          

          52. MODERN AND MODEST BAR WHERE DIEGO WORKS. NIGHT. INT. 2008


          

          
          At nights, Diego D.J.'s inside a small booth. Two of his friends, or
          just acquaintances of the club scene, one of them we've already seen

          

          

           68

          
          earlier, keep him company. The one we don't know, Friend A, looks
          pretty loaded. He is very "friendly" with the other two.

          

          

           DIEGO
           (Without acrimony) Stop fondling me... damn it!

           ALEX
           It's the GHB. It kicks your ass.

          

          
          Diego takes a sip of Coke and whisky and sets it down somewhere inside
          the booth.

          

          

           ALEX
           Do you want a little bit of "X"? (referring to
           "MDMA", aka Ecstasy)

           DIEGO
           Just a tip. (He licks his finger and sticks its moist
           tip into the bag that Alex offers him, he takes his
           finger to his mouth) Tomorrow I have to work, we are
           writing a vampire script that's going to be the shit!

          

          

          AT THE BAR .

          

          
          The Friend, high on GHB, grabs a glass of Coca-cola from the
          bartender's hands, at the bar. He takes out a small container and
          adds a few drops of liquid ecstasy into the drink.

          

          
          He takes a sip and enters the booth where the other two are. He sets
          the glass down and begins to jump, euphorically.

          

          

           DIEGO
           Stop already, you are going to go through the roof.

          

          

           69

          
          In between songs, (he is changing the tune) Diego grabs Friend A's
          drink. They are both drinking Coca-Cola, Diego's has whisky and Friend
          A's has liquid ecstasy. Distracted by changing tunes, Diego does not
          realize that he has grabbed the drink with GHB. He takes a long sip.
          And he falls flat to the floor.
          The two friends, bewildered and scared, attempt to revive him, but to
          no avail. Perhaps Alex will exclaim:

          

          

           ALEX
           Holy shit, he's taken a drink from your glass! Why in
           the world did you get Coca-cola! Didn't you notice he
           was drinking a jack and coke?

           FRIEND A
           I didn't realize!

           ALEX
           (Very alarmed) He's unconscious!

          

          

          

          

          53. BAR EXTERIOR. NIGHT. 2008 (OPTIONAL)

          

          
          An ambulance arrives.
          They carry Diego out, unconscious, from the bar on a stretcher. Alex
          goes with him, very scared. Before they go into the vehicle, Diego's
          mobile phone rings. Alex takes it from Diego's pocket, he doesn't
          know why he is doing so, it is a hysterical reaction. On the other
          side of the line, he hears Harry's voice.

          

          

           ALEX
           No. I'm a friend. Diego just... he's not well. We
           are taking him into the emergency room...

           HARRY

          

          

           70

          
           Emergency? Can I talk to him?

           ALEX
           No... because...

           HARRY
           What hospital are you taking him to?

          

          
          The friend asks one of the ambulance employees who tells him the
          name of the hospital. Alex repeats it for Harry.

          

          

           ALEX
           Who are you?

           HARRY
           (Improvising) ...His uncle. I am on my way.

          

          

          

          

          54. ENRACE TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM OF A HOSPITAL. EXT. NIGHT. 2008


          

          
          Harry gets out of a taxi. He aids himself with the typical blind
          man's cane. He can't find the entryway. He bumps into something. We
          have not yet seen him this clumsy. Someone helps him enter. The same
          person accompanies him to the reception desk in the waiting-room area.
          He is no longer the blind man who was walking euphorically along his
          street's sidewalk, umbrella in hand.

          

          

           HARRY
           (Anxious) I am here to see Diego Garcia. He's just been
           admitted.

          

          
          The "receptionist" looks through the admittances. Taking into account
          that Harry is blind, she decides to call the Doctor who has attended
          Diego.

          

          

           71

          

          54 A.

          

          
          Shortly thereafter, the Doctor appears. He heads directly for Harry.

          

          

           HARRY
           I am here to see Diego Garcia.

           DOCTOR
           Are you immediate family?

           HARRY
           (Improvises) Yes... I'm his uncle, and his godfather.

           DOCTOR
           Your nephew is at the ICU, he arrived in a coma...

          

          
          Harry reacts to the news.

          

          

           HARRY
           In a coma?

           DOCTOR
           Yes...

           HARRY
           But, what has happened?!

           DOCTOR
           He ingested liquid ecstasy and alcohol... it is a lethal
           combination. His friend informed us it was a mistake...
           (It happens sometimes, kids grab the wrong glass...)

           HARRY
           My God! But Diego is a very healthy boy...

          

          
          The doctor makes a neutral gesture of acknowledgement...

          

          

          

          

           72

          

           DOCTOR
           Barring any complications, he will recover in six to
           twelve hours.

           HARRY
           If that's the case, I'll wait...

           DOCTOR
           Go home, we will call you...

           HARRY
           I'd rather wait.

           DOCTOR
           Are you certain?

           HARRY
           Yes. Guide me to a place where I can sit, please...

          

          
          The Doctor directs him toward an area with sofas.

          

          

           DOCTOR
           Would you mind providing us with his parents' phone
           number?

           HARRY
           He only has a mother and, at the moment, she is
           working outside Madrid... I would prefer to call her
           myself... I don't want to alarm her, unless he is truly
           in a grave condition...

           DOCTOR
           Normally, he should recuperate in a few hours... but,
           in any case, you should have a talk with him, once
           he's better...

           HARRY
           Yes, of course...

          

          

          

          

           73

          
          They arrive at a couch set, ugly and lacking style, Harry collapses on
          one of the armchairs, demolished.
          The Doctor returns to work.
          The girl at the reception desk stares at Harry, who is immobile,
          readied for a long wait.
          A slow fade to black.

          

          

          

          

          55. HARRY'S HOME. HARRY'S BEDROOM. INT. DAWN. 2008


          

          
          From black.
          Harry is still waiting, this time at home, sitting on a wingback chair
          close to the bed where Diego sleeps.
          On the nightstand, there are some medications and a glass of water,
          next to a plastic bottle, an alarm-clock. And perhaps a book.
          Through the window you can see the day beginning to break, Diego
          awakens. At first he doesn't know where he is. In the darkness of
          the room he discovers Harry's figure, sitting on the wingback chair.
          He can't tell if he's awake or asleep, but it soothes him to know he's
          not alone. Diego stares at him, he doesn't say anything. Just
          stares.
          To his surprise, Harry asks him:

          

          

           HARRY
           How are you?

          

          
          Diego makes a listless gesture.

          

          

           DIEGO
           I don't know... dazed. Did you speak with my mother?

           HARRY

          

          

           74

          
           Yes, I told her it was something you ate...

           DIEGO
           And she believed it?

           HARRY
           I don't know. She wanted to hurry back, but I
           convinced her to continue with the location scouting.
           At some point you'll have to call her.

          

          
          Silence. Diego thinks about everything's that's happened.
          After a few seconds:

          

          

           HARRY
           Are you asleep?

           DIEGO
           I'm not sleepy anymore.

           HARRY
           Do you want to talk?

           DIEGO
           No...

           HARRY
           Would you like me to speak?

           DIEGO
           I don't know. If you'd like...

           HARRY
           I say so in order to distract you. When I was young,
           before I got into making movies, I was very good at
           telling stories.

           DIEGO
           (Not sure) Well, then... would you mind telling me why
           my mother is so afraid of Ernesto Junior?

           HARRY
           She's afraid of him?

           75

          

           DIEGO
           Before she left, she made me promise that I would
           remain alert, in case he reappeared...

           HARRY
           She didn't explain why?

           DIEGO
           She never explains anything.

          

          
          Harry remains pensive for a moment, Diego's request has taken him by
          surprise.

          

          

           HARRY
           It's a long story...

           DIEGO
           Judit says the same thing. How did you meet him?

          

          
          It is not easy to talk about. In some way it must be obvious that
          Harry has spent many years (fourteen) avoiding this topic, but he is
          determined to do anything necessary to entertain Diego.
          Diego serves himself some water and prepares to listen.

          

          

           HARRY
           We met him... In an office we had rented in preparation
           for my new film, about fourteen years ago.

          

          

          

          

          56. MATEO'S OFFICE. INT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          The images that correspond to the past are edited more freely than the
          rest of the narrative. Summarized and sped-up by Harry's voice-off,
          mixing media from diverse sources.

          

          

           76

          

           OFF HARRY
           ...After having written five dramas, I had finally
           managed to write a script for a comedy, or that's what
           I thought. I wanted to change genres... to take a risk
           (ironic-destructive) And I swear I accomplished that,
           the part about taking a risk.

          

          
          In 1994, everyone calls Harry "Mateo". He is sitting behind a table
          filled with papers, photographs, books, magazines, an ashtray, pencil
          and pen holders, etc. At its center, a script lies open, with tons of
          notes scribbled on the margins of its pages. He is finishing the
          definitive version of "Girls and Suitcases".

          

          
          The casual messiness of the place produces its own aesthetic. The
          only decorations on the walls, here and there, not following any
          particular symmetrical rule, are postcards of painters, actors or
          landscapes, held in place by tacks. There is also a newspaper page
          that has caught Mateo's attention. Or some astonishing photograph,
          taken from a magazine. The cover of some magazine. Everything without
          framing, tacked directly onto the wall.
          The furniture is pastel, medium-shade green or red, with velvet
          tapestry, worn and outmoded. The pieces don't match, but they look
          good together.

          

          
          Judit enters (also fourteen years younger, but this is less obvious.
          She is a woman unmarked by the march of time.)
          Mateo is focused on the script's pages. Judit is Mateo's right-hand
          man, they are accomplices in everything, both professionally and
          emotionally.

          

          

           JUDIT

           77

          
           A girl has stopped by. She doesn't have an appointment,
           so there is no reason for you to see her...

           MATEO
           (Without much interest) What's she like?

           JUDIT
           Too beautiful to be funny.

           MATEO
           (Smiles) Really?

           JUDIT
           She is Ernesto Martel's lover, the tycoon. She is
           here with his son.

           MATEO
           And she's an actress?

           JUDIT
           (Ironic) Her? If she's been with him for three years,
           she must be. In any case, go out and say hello, to be
           polite. One must get along well with important men.
           You never know.

          

          

          

          

          57. CONTINUED. WAITING AREA. 1994.

          

          
          Mateo exits his office. In the improvised waiting area (it is not a
          proper waiting room but a transient-space turned waiting area by a
          couch left over from the furnishings of some previous film). He finds
          Ernesto Junior (in other words, the character who had introduced
          himself as Ray X fourteen years ago; in his case, the age-difference
          is noticeable, he's just a kid). He is a little heavier, his hair
          longer, he reminds us of the love-struck big-kid that Phyllip Seymour
          Hoffman played in "Boogie Nights".

          

          

          

          

           78

          
          Mateo's gaze rests only for an instant on the young man, even though
          the boy does not take his stupefied eyes away from Mateo throughout
          the entire sequence.

          

          
          Ernesto Junior has accompanied Lena. When he sees her, Mateo freezes,
          at the door to his office.
          Lena's back is turned, or her head is tilted as she reads a magazine.
          Ernesto elbows her, Lena raises her head and discovers Mateo, watching
          her from the door to his office.
          Mateo's heart churns, it's a cinematographic churn, he feels like
          James Stewart in "Vertigo", when he first sees Kim Novak at the
          restaurant, with her famous green dress. Time stops for an instant so
          that Mateo may contemplate this woman's apparition.

          

          
          After this brief hypnotic moment, they introduce themselves,
          forgetting Ernesto's presence, who then, since no one pays attention
          to him, introduces himself.
          Even though she's a bit nervous, one can tell that Lena is a strong
          and decisive woman. Brunette. Mysterious. Made-up in dark tones that
          stand out on her pale skin. Refined. She doesn't have the aspect of a
          comedienne, her presence is too intense, she seems better suited to be
          the heroine of a film noir (as we've said).
          Genres and their iconographies pose no limit on Mateo's capacity to be
          attracted to her, from the first instant.

          

          

           LENA
           I am sorry we showed up like this, but I've heard you
           are running auditions... and I would like for you to
           give me a try out.

          

          
          Mateo observes her intently. She does not resemble any of the
          characters in the script, but he no longer cares about that. At some

           79

          
          point, Judit makes her appearance and gets to contemplate this scene
          herself, displeased.

          

          

           LENA
           I can come whatever day is convenient.

          

          

          

          

           MATEO
           You're already here. Let's read something.

          

          
          It doesn't sound like "let's read something" but more like "let's have
          a drink."
          They disappear through Mateo's office door.
          Fade to black.

          

          

          

          

          58. ERNESTO SENIOR'S MANSION. (IN PUERTA DE HIERRO OR

          SOMETHING LIKE IT). EXT. NIGHT. 1994.


          

          
          From black.
          (Over an establishing shot of the mansion, one hears Harry's voice-off
          as he speaks to Diego)

          

          

           OFF HARRY
           The reading didn't work out. We were both too nervous.
           The first meeting and the reading we did only served
           to make me realize that woman's very presence
           perturbed me.

          

          
          Great mansion, with a huge green parcel of land with various trees,
          bushes, flowers... Two or three dogs are running across the lawn. The

          

          

           80

          
          plot of land must span about 6,000 square meters or more. (The dogs
          approach the camera, as if it were a trespasser).
          Alarm system, etc. The main building has two levels, joined by a grand
          staircase. All decorated by wives with the wish to be decorators,
          aided by hired decorators. Brand-name furniture, two or three
          paintings worth millions. A piano and a certain desolateness. One can
          tell that his previous wives have left along with a part of the
          furnishings.

          

          

          

          

          59. LIVING ROOM ON THE TOP LEVEL. LENA AND ERNESTO SENIOR

          DINE. INT. NIGHT. 1994


          

          
          The Father already knows he is missing information about something
          unexpected that has gone on that morning. They are at dessert.

          

          

           ERNESTO SENIOR
           Where have you been this morning?

           LENA
           Ernesto hasn't told you?

           ERNESTO SENIOR
           I haven't asked him.

           LENA
           (She hates having to account for herself.) I went to
           see a film director.

           ERNESTO S.
           What for!

           LENA
           (Dryly) For an audition.

          

          
          Ernesto looks at her with surprise, he doesn't approve of it.

          

          

           81

          

           ERNESTO S.
           An audition? How so?

           LENA
           (With less determination than she would like, but
           enough to alarm Ernesto Senior) I want to work.

           ERNESTO S.
           Weren't you going to study interior design? Weren't
           you going to redecorate the house? I thought we
           agreed that you would transform what's left of my two
           shipwrecked marriages into something more our own...

           LENA
           Call a decorator... I want to be an actress. I've
           always wanted to.

          

          
          (Brief pause)

          

          

           ERNESTO S.
           You've already attempted it once... and look how you've
           ended up.

          

          
          Lena shoots him a fulminating glance.

          

          

           LENA
           (Affected) That's a cheap shot.

           ERNESTO S.
           (First, he attacks. Then, he is sorry. Lºike any
           violent lover) I am sorry, forgive me.

          

          
          Lena is frustrated and restless. She rises.

          

          

           LENA

           82

          
           Excuse me, I am retiring to my room.

          

          
          Ernesto grabs her and then embraces her. Lena remains still within his
          arms, imprisoned and elusive, the two locked in a strange posture.

          

          

           LENA
           In any case, don't worry. It didn't turn out well. I
           was too nervous.

          

          

          

          

          60. CONTINUED.

          

          
          Someone calls at the door. "There's a call". It's the voice of one
          of the hired help, behind the door. "it's Mr. Mateo Blanco, and he
          says it's important".

          

          

           LENA
           (Yells) Come in!

          

          
          She breaks free from Ernesto's embrace and runs toward the door where
          the maid is holding the supplementary handset. Avidly, she grabs it
          from her. She listens, excited. She responds only in monosyllables,
          affirmatively. She hangs up the phone. Her eyes glitter with intense
          happiness, a feeling from which Ernesto feels excluded.

          

          

           LENA
           (Enthusiastically) That's the film director. He says
           the reading was not sufficient and he wants to see me
           once more!

          

          
          Lena looks imploringly at Ernesto Senior.

          

          

           83

          

           ERNESTO S.
           What are you going to do?

           LENA
           Go see him, no?!

          

          
          Ernesto makes a gesture that betrays his anger and displeasure.

          

          

           LENA
           Please, Ernesto. I need to do something! And I've
           always wanted to be an actress!

           ERNESTO S.
           And what will become of me?

           LENA
           They have not given me the role yet.

           ERNESTO S.
           They will...!

           LENA
           Well, if I were to get it, we would still see each
           other every day, as it has been, in the mornings and
           evenings. Nothing will change, except that during the
           day I would work, just like you.

           ERNESTO S.
           Why don't we get married?

           LENA
           (Taken by surprise) What?

           ERNESTO S.
           I am asking you to marry me...

           LENA
           Don't you think you've married and divorced enough
           times already?

           ERNESTO S.

           84

          
           With you it'd be the first.

           LENA
           We've been living together for three years, aren't we
           fine like this?

           ERNESTO S.
           (Somber) It doesn't seem you are.

          

          

          

          

          61. IN THE MORNING. HARRY'S HOME. SIGNIFICANT ELLIPSIS. INT.


          DAY. 2008

          

          
          Diego is better, but Harry prefers to keep caring for him. Harry
          makes him breakfast. Diego is sitting at the table.

          

          

           HARRY
           Ernesto Martel offered to produce the movie. Your
           mother didn't want him to. She was waiting for a
           subsidy from the Ministry and an advance sale to
           television, but that would take months and I was
           suddenly in a great hurry to begin shooting.

          

          

          

          

          62. DRESSING ROOM FOR MAKE-UP, HAIR, AND COSTUME. INT. DAY.


          1994

          

          
          Part of the voice-off is edited over these images.
          Lena is in the process of being made-up, coifed and dressed. This,
          under the control of Mateo Blanco, who does not stop speaking,
          offering references, making ironic remarks, etc. All of this is seen
          through the lens of a 16mm camera. (Images of contrasting colors).
          The editing is vertiginous and doesn't at all respect continuity

          

          

           85

          
          rules. The young Ernesto Junior is carrying the camera. We also see
          this scene from the other side of the 16mm frame, from the point of
          view of the main narration, which includes images of Ernesto Junior
          filming with the 16mm camera.

          

          
          On the inside frame of the dressing room mirror, there are photographs
          of a young Shirley MacLaine, Kate Hepburn (young), Judy Holliday,
          Audrey Hepburn, Goldie Hawn (in "Butterflies Are Free" or any other
          film where she wears her hair long with a fringe). Icons of the
          romantic comedy of today and yesteryear.
          Over the voices of the characters that appear on frame, one hears
          Harry's voice-off.

          

          

           OFF HARRY
           I enjoyed making her up, styling her and dressing
           her. Lena could be the Shirley McLaine of "The
           Apartment" and the Audrey Hepburn of "Breakfast at
           Tiffany's", or even Goldie Hawn...

          

          
          Through the 16mm camera we can see the details of Lena's mutating
          image, how it gets constructed. It is true that she reminds us of the
          three actresses that Harry mentions in his voice-off. The members of
          the team assisting her (hair-stylist, makeup artist, costume designer,
          etc. and Lena herself) laugh heartily when they finish setting her up
          with Goldie's blonde long-hair wig with a fringe. And they stare,
          dumbfounded, when she is made-up as Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at
          Tiffany's" or "Sabrina". It's a style that fits Lena like a glove.
          They are all fascinated by the change, except Judit, estranged and
          angered by their playfulness.
          (For Judit, Mateo is constructing his ideal woman. She finds all that
          playing around obscene and dangerous).

          

          

           86

          

           OFF HARRY
           Your mother didn't like Lena.

          

          
          Judit watches Lena-Audrey with a fatalistic stare.

          

          

           OFF HARRY
           I, on the other hand, liked her a lot, and she liked
           me.

          

          
          Mateo manifests his enthusiasm over the changes and Lena looks at him
          with excitement. She also feels transformed on the inside and that's
          thanks to Mateo.

          

          

           OFF HARRY
           Ernesto Junior also liked me...

          

          
          Ernesto Junior directs his camera lens toward Harry's face, not hiding
          his admiration.

          

          

           OFF HARRY
           I was hoping to use him for my own ends. His father
           had asked him to make a documentary about the
           shooting...

          

          

          

          

          63. SCREENING ROOM, ERNESTO MARTEL SENIOR'S HOME. INT. DAY. OR


          NIGHT. 1994

          

          
          Ernesto Senior is watching the make-up test, the hair-styling test,
          etc., part of what we have already seen through the 16mm lens. The
          sound is chaotic, many people are always speaking at once.

          

          

           87

          

           CONTINUED OFF HARRY
           As far as Ernesto Senior was concerned, (we observe
           him watching the projection uncomfortably) I've never
           known a man more obsessed with a woman, except myself.
           He was producing the film out of a desperate attempt
           to not lose Lena. In the middle of this emotional
           quagmire, we began shooting... Your mother was present
           at every instant, her face like a sergeant's.

          

          
          (End with a shot in 16mm of Judit.)

          

          

          

          

          64. SHOOTING. THE SET OF "GIRLS AND SUITCASES". INT. EFFECT


          TO BE DETERMINED. 1994

          

          
          Images from "the making of" shot by Ernesto Junior on 16mm, with high
          grain and contrast, mixed with direct images from the establishing
          shot of what is occurring.
          The look of Lena's character is openly inspired by the Audrey Hepburn
          of "Breakfast at Tiffany's", with Sabrina's hair style and loop
          earrings (fringe and ponytail). She has also adopted the style of
          Holy Golithly, her kind heart and that urbane sophistication that
          characterizes modern girls from rural origins. The only difference is
          a more visceral quality, Pina (Lena's character) is exalted and
          Mediterranean, nothing like Hepburn. Her wardrobe is that of a modern
          girl in `94, she is a professional model for cosmetic products. One
          of her advertising photographs is framed and hangs on one of the walls
          of the loft where she lives.

          

          

          

          

           88

          

          IN STUDIO-MADE KITCHEN, INSIDE THE COMPLEX "PINA'S LOFT".

          

          
          Pina, Lena's character, is cutting tomatoes for a gazpacho, inside a
          beautiful and shiny kitchen.
          Pina is sad, probably thinking about "all the times she has had
          gazpacho with Ivan, the absent lover". A tear drops from her face onto
          the knife with which she's cutting the tomatoes. (In slow motion, one
          sees the collision of the tear with the knife, in a cut-in). Hers is a
          subtly comic sadness.

          

          
          When she is done grinding up the tomatoes she takes a box of
          sedatives, which she is carrying in her apron's pocket. She throws
          all the pills into the gazpacho. She keeps two or three for herself.
          (She may even say out loud, "These are for me".) With a wooden spoon,
          she mixes the orange liquid, even though it only contains red
          tomatoes.

          

          
          The cut-ins are to be alternated with the "making of" of the cut-ins.
          As well as Mateo's comments over the action, which instruct Lena how
          to react.
          The clap-board marks the end. It's the fifth take. Mateo says
          "Great". Lena almost screams with joy.

          

          
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          65. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SET. INT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          (Maybe on two random chairs from THE LOFT TERRACE, which are piled up
          with objects from the set, given that this is not where they will be
          shooting; the chairs are next to the corral with the chickens and

          

          

           89

          
          rabbits.) Seen through the 16mm camera: In the foreground, the team
          that's preparing the next shot for the next sequence; in the
          background, without being able to hear what they are saying, Mateo
          speaking to Lena. They are both holding a script in their hands.
          Mateo is giving her directions. Everything is very professional, but
          their demeanor radiates understanding, complicity and... a latent
          desire. They are not talking about anything personal.

          

          
          "Now we will do the part where you return home, frustrated, after
          having left Ivan a note on his door. When you bump into Julieta.
          You just open this door, you look at the answering machine from afar.
          The machine has become some kind of monster to you. You are terrified
          of it."
          "A Monster?"
          "Yes... Your sanity depends on it. If the light blinks, it means there
          may have been a call. And if it doesn't blink... you can't do anything
          but wait... and you lost your patience some time ago."

          

          

          

          

          66. ERNESTO SENIOR'S SCREENING ROOM. INT. 1994


          

          
          What Lena and Mateo are saying on the terrace, as captured by the
          "making of" by Ernesto Junior, is being seen and listened to by
          Ernesto Senior, in the screening room that he's had installed in his
          own home. Next to him, a young female lip-reader (A girl of neutral
          aspect, but interesting, dressed as a glamour-less Russian.) is
          translating for Ernesto Senior what Lena and Mateo are saying, as if
          she were dubbing them. (The tone of her voice does not betray anything
          suspicious. Everything sounds strictly professional, a director and an
          actress who speak, in complicity, about their work.) They both appear

          

          

          

          

           90

          
          contained, their attraction made more evident by what they hide than
          by what they show.
          Judit is present in all the shots of the setting up, including the
          ones where Mateo and Lena are in the background, as Mateo makes
          suggestions on how to add nuance to Lena's performance. Judit appears
          solemn and always with an annoyed expression. Ernesto Senior feels
          sympathy for this woman.
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          67. END OF THE WORK DAY. INTERIOR OF THE STUDIO. INT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          The team has just finished shooting a shot with Pina on the terrace,
          leaning over a railing, her back turned, waiting for Ivan. Mateo
          yells "cut". And the Assistant sends the team away, until the next
          day.
          The Production team hands out the order for the next day, as if
          handing out the last edition of a newspaper with breaking news.
          Dispersal.
          The different teams disband and head toward the exit doors.
          Mateo crosses paths with Ernesto Junior.

          

          

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           Are you going to work on something?

           MATEO
           No. You may go.

           ERNESTO J.
           I don't mind staying.

           MATEO
           It's best if you leave. I am going to try out some wigs.

           ERNESTO J.

          

          

           91

          
           Wigs? I love wigs!

           MATEO
           (Categorically) No! You don't love them! You already
           have many hours shot of wigs. This is more of the
           same.

          

          
          Disappointed, Ernesto Junior says goodbye.

          

          

           ERNESTO J.
           And Lena?

           MATEO
           After she tries on the new wigs, she's asked for a
           massage therapist, she has a spasm...

           ERNESTO J.
           Spasms... I don't have footage of spasms... Couldn't I
           shoot that?

           MATEO
           Ernesto, stop being a pest and leave already! See you
           tomorrow!

          

          
          Mateo speaks to him in a friendly tone, as if there were a warm
          rapport between them. He does so strategically, given that he thinks
          the boy is the plague.
          Ernesto Junior finally understands that there is nothing for him to do
          and disappears.
          And Mateo breathes.

          

          

          

          

          68. WAREHOUSE HALLWAY AND HAIR & MAKE-UP DRESSING ROOM. INT.


          DAY. 1994

          

          

          

          

           92

          
          Mateo accompanies Edurne, (the make-up artist and old flame,
          collaborator and accomplice in other films), to discuss some detail of
          Lena's hairstyle and makeup. They end up at the make-up and hair
          dressing room. Lena's dressing room is just next door. She is there
          with one or two actors who are still hanging around. The rest have
          left. (The reason of the previous scene has been a pretext. They both
          know it)

          

          

           MATEO
           (To Edurne) I am going to speak to Magdalena... Do you
           mind being on the lookout? Don't let anyone interrupt
           us.

          

          
          The hairdresser gestures in accord.

          

          

          

          

          69. LENA'S DRESSING ROOM. INT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          Lena sees him enter, she glances at him ardently, not surprised to
          have him in her dressing room.

          

          

           LENA
           Is Junior around?

           MATEO
           No. I sent him home. There's only Edurne, on watch...

          

          
          Mateo approaches Lena and, without the slightest preamble, launches
          himself at her mouth, kissing her fervently. The impression is that
          they are about to devour each other. They separate as if to catch
          their breath, looking intensely into each other's eyes.
          They tear each other's clothes off (she's in a robe).

          

          

           93

          

           LENA
           This is madness, Mateo. I am no good for you.

           MATEO
           You should have warned me sooner.

          

          
          There are no overtures. They devour each other, hungry. They make
          love on a small bed, as if they were on the edge of a precipice.
          Desire, contained by both during the past weeks, explodes and levels
          them. Neither one does anything to stop it. (A train passes by at
          high-speed, both images fuse, the lovers and the train across their
          bodies.)
          Fade to black.
          Ellipsis.

          

          

          

          

          70. ERNESTO SENIOR'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. 1994.


          

          
          Lena arrives late from the shooting, tired and satisfied. This is
          supposed to be another day, not the same day of the "scene" in the
          dressing room.
          Ernesto Senior awaits for her in the living room, in front of a muted
          television, with a drink in hand. (Perhaps the train will still be
          present, on the television screen.)
          Lena approaches him and kisses him.

          

          

           ERNESTO S.
           (Ironic) I didn't know one worked so hard in the movies.

           LENA
           (Smiles) Well, yes, especially if you're a girl.

           ERNESTO S.

          

          

           94

          
           Why if you're a girl?

          

          
          Lena sits and takes a sip from his drink.

          

          

           LENA
           Because you must put on makeup (and then remove it),
           dress up, do your hair. Get dressed again, do your
           hair again. And that takes hours.

           ERNESTO S.
           And you're not tired?

           LENA
           At the end of the week, sure, but I'm happy...

           ERNESTO S.
           I was thinking we should take a break, a weekend.
           Just the two of us, alone. At the house in Ibiza, or
           in Paris... wherever you want... you and I.

           LENA
           I can't travel until the shoot is over...

           ERNESTO S.
           I am talking about just a weekend.

           LENA
           We rehearse on weekends.

           ERNESTO S.
           Don't you also rehearse during the shooting?

           LENA
           Yes.

           ERNESTO S.
           What's going on, you spend all day rehearsing!

           LENA
           (Without losing her cool) That's how one makes a
           movie! (thinking, "you moron!", but she doesn't say
           it).

           95

          

           ERNESTO S.
           And everyone else's life? It can't be set aside for
           months!

           LENA
           The movie is boss.

           ERNESTO S.
           Excuse me, I'm the producer, so I'm the boss.

          

          
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          71. ON A SET IN MID-CONSTRUCTION, WITH CARPENTERS, PAINTERS,

          ETC. INT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          Mateo argues with the set designer over one of the sets.
          Distractedly, Judit waters the plants, real ones, of Pina's fake
          terrace, some of them somewhat shriveled from being away from the sun
          for so long.
          Mateo is going to go complain to her about the set, but he notices
          that she is so worried and tired that he doesn't say anything.

          

          

           MATEO
           You look awful...

           JUDIT
           Little Diego... he could hardly breathe all night...
           neither of us has slept a wink.

           MATEO
           (Worried) You still don't know what it is?

           JUDIT

          

          

          

          

           96

          
           Some doctors say it's asthma, others that it's
           allergies, but we don't know to what... They are still
           running tests, but it's driving me to the brink...

           MATEO
           Take all the time you need... Even if we're shooting,
           your son is more important.

           JUDIT
           Thanks. (Changing subjects) One more thing, I've
           talked to the producer.

           MATEO
           And?

           JUDIT
           He complains that the shooting is monopolizing Lena.

           MATEO
           (Exasperated and condescending) And how does he think
           one makes movies?

           JUDIT
           Ernesto is a businessman, not an artist.

           MATEO
           Then he shouldn't have signed up as a producer, no one
           asked him...

           JUDIT
           I warned you! Ernesto Martel doesn't give a crap
           about this movie and those of us making it, except for
           one person! This weekend he is taking her to Ibiza
           with him, so you won't be able to rehearse.

          

          
          Mateo looks at her as if she had just slapped him. Mumbles:

          

          

           MATEO
           Son of a bitch!

          

          

           97

          

          72. LUXURIOUS IBIZAN HOUSE. EXT AND INT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          Lena and Ernesto spend the weekend together, at an Ibizan house
          minutely decorated with ethnic details. The decoration, super-
          luxurious hippie, does not ring untrue to the Island's aesthetic.
          Consider that Ernesto Senior and Lena are in the bedroom, on the bed,
          making love luxuriously. There's no hurry, they pay careful attention
          to all the details.
          After the final sprint, they both come, satisfied. Or so it seems.
          Ernesto remains spent on the bed, motionless. Lena gets up and goes
          to the bathroom.
          She opens the faucet and lets the water run.
          Immediately, she is overtaken by vicious retching. On her knees, she
          vomits into the toilet.
          After she's done vomiting she gets up and looks at herself in the
          mirror. She wipes off her mouth and closes the faucet. She looks
          very pale, the exertion from the vomiting is written on her face.
          Quickly, she puts some makeup on. Enough to bring some color back to
          her cheeks and to get rid of the bags under her eyes. Her eyes still
          glimmer from the tears she's shed. More than in any other sequence,
          it is here that Lena reveals her talent as an actress.
          She exits the bathroom, wrapped in an elegant robe, a bit divine-
          hippie.

          

          

          

          

          73. BEDROOM IBIZAN HOUSE. INT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          Ernesto Senior is still lying in bed, recuperating.
          He gazes at her, love-struck.

          

          

          

          

           98

          

           ERNESTO S.
           Have you put on makeup?

           LENA
           (Animated, without exaggeration. A well-faked
           serenity) I want you to find me pretty.

           ERNESTO S.
           To me, you always are! It's impossible that you
           wouldn't be pretty.

          

          
          Lena sits on the bed, her back to Ernesto. He wraps his arm around
          her waist while she makes some typical girl-gesture: looks at her
          nails thinking of how she'll fix them, looks into her pocket mirror
          and ponders the color of her hair, grabs a magazine on the nightstand
          and thumbs through it, calls her mother to see how she's doing... Or,
          simplest of all, takes a cigarette out of its box, looks for the
          lighter, finds it and lights it. Everything is done sluggishly, she's
          trying to take up as much time as possible.

          

          

           LENA
           Would you like a cigarette?

           ERNESTO S.
           No... thanks.

           LENA
           Do you know how many fucks we've had since we arrived
           yesterday?

           ERNESTO S.
           (Smiles, like a champ) Six?

           LENA
           (Also smiles) Ten.

           ERNESTO S.
           With honours, yes?

          

          

           99

          
          Lena forces a smile, with her back to Ernesto.

          

          

           LENA
           Yes, I suppose so.

          

          
          Ernesto Senior embraces her from behind and brings her toward him. He
          mumbles, affectionately:

          

          

           ERNESTO S.
           We have to take advantage of our time. We only have
           one more day left.

          

          

          

          

          74. ENTRANCE HALL, PINA'S LOFT. INT. DAY. 1994


          

          

          SHOOT. THE FOLLOWING MONDAY.

          

          
          Only the indispensable members of the team and the actors are
          clustered around the entrance hall and the elevator:
          A scene is being shot where Pina exits the elevator and walks through
          the entrance hall, in a hurry, toward the street. She bumps into
          Chus, the porter, who is holding two metal objects (A Robert Indiana
          "LOVE", impressive and metallic, and a Gucci alarm clock in the shape
          of a G, the G is also metallic.)
          Chus stops her, almost by force. She is a very "communicative" woman
          and Pina attempts to get her off her back, as quickly as possible,
          without being rude to her.
          Chus shows her both objects, with a questioning look on her face.

          

          

           CHUS

          

          

          

          

           100

          
           Look at what I've found on the sidewalk, they fell
           from your terrace.

           PINA
           They are gifts from Mr. Ivan and I tossed them out.
           He told me to keep them, but I don't want them!

           CHUS
           But you can't do that, Ms. Pina. You could have
           killed somebody... You can't just throw things off the
           terrace, much less if they are metal...

           PINA
           In Naples, on New Year's Eve, they even throw out
           furniture, my grandfather was Neapolitan... I carry it
           in my blood.

           CHUS
           But this is not Naples, nor is today New Year's Eve...

           PINA
           I was anxious and throwing things relaxes me... Keep
           them if you like.

           CHUS
           Thanks so much, Ms. Pina. But that's not right...

          

          
          Pina exits the entrance hall, leaving the porter mid-sentence, while
          the porter repeats, still, two more times.

          

          

           CHUS
           It's not alright, Ms. Pina.

          

          
          The scene is very simple, but it must exude charm. Chus is a natural
          comic talent and Pina's character must act with a flippancy that plays
          comically. At the same time, Lena is noticeably exhausted, both
          physically and emotionally. Instead of lending the text lightness, she
          brings it down. And she's aware of it.

           101

          
          For the first time, Mateo does not hide his annoyance as a director
          because the scene turns out badly, and as a lover because he is
          jealous of her weekend with Ernesto Senior. Lena cannot stand to look
          at him, she can't bare his angered expression.
          Mateo takes her aside to a secluded corner of the set and away from
          the team.

          

          

           MATEO
           (Serious) Your tone is off, Magdalena.

           LENA
           (Very depressed) I know.

           MATEO
           (In a very low voice) What's wrong?

           LENA
           (Whispers, on the brink of tears) I'll tell you later.

          

          
          Mateo gestures for the Assistant to come over. Lena still has her
          back toward the team. Mateo says something to the Assistant, who then
          says out loud for all to hear:

          

          

           ASSISTANT
           We break for thirty minutes, it's snack time!

          

          
          Mateo meets with Lena in the darkest corner of the entrance hall.

          

          

          

          

          75. ERNESTO SENIOR'S HOME. SCREENING ROOM. INT. 1994


          

          
          Ernesto Senior must be intercut, watching in his screening room all
          that occurs at the shoot. Next to him, the lip-reader.

          

          

           102

          

          76. CONTINUED. ENTRANCE HALL.

          

          
          The members of the team slowly depart from the entrance hall. They
          take the opportunity to grab a bite or get some air, they gather close
          to the trucks or next to the catering. All except Ernesto Junior who
          remains inside and hides furtively behind a styrofoam panel, somewhat
          removed from the couple, who cannot see him.
          Mateo looks all around to ensure that they are alone.

          

          

           MATEO
           (With urgency) What's happened?

           LENA
           I've had a horrible weekend...

           MATEO
           But... we haven't rehearsed, so that you could rest!

           LENA
           Rest? I haven't slept a wink all weekend... (Sighs, on
           the brink of tears) It's been a nightmare!

          

          
          Mateo once again ascertains that there is no one in the entrance hall.
          He hands her a Kleenex so that she may wipe her tears.

          

          

           LENA
           I have literally had Ernesto on top of me, all those
           forty-eight hours, like a leech! (repulsed
           expression) He has not given me a second to breathe,
           the asshole!

          

          

          

          

           103

          
          Mateo grabs her by the arm and takes her up the stairs to an apartment
          that the production company has rented in the same building.

          

          

          

          

          77. ERNESTO SENIOR'S SCREENING ROOM. INT. 1994


          

          
          Ernesto Senior hears the entire conversation from the lips of the lip-
          reader. A stony expression on his face. The "reader" repeats the
          dialogues in an unexpressive tone, which makes them sound even more
          dramatic and painful.
          Cut to.
          Fade to black.

          

          

          

          

          78. ON THE SET OF PINA'S LOFT. FLASHBACK. INT. 1994


          

          

          A DIFFERENT DAY.

          

          
          Returning from black.
          Various shots of Pina's loft. Everything seems chaotic, typical of
          the end of the work day. The furniture is out of place, silverware
          and plastic is all mixed together with electrical material and stage
          equipment. The warehouse lights begin to shut off.
          The team disbands.

          

          
          On her way to the dressing room, Lena tells Ernesto Junior that she is
          headed to her yoga class, as she does every day. And that she wants
          to go alone.

          

          

           ERNESTO JUNIOR

          

          

          

          

           104

          
           My father asks me why it is that I don't go with you
           to yoga, he asks me all the time.

           LENA
           Well, you tell him that I am a grown-up now, and free,
           and that I've forbidden you to follow me.

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           You know I can't tell him that.

           LENA
           Try it. It would do you good.

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           I can't.

           LENA
           Do as you wish, but you're not coming with me.

          

          
          And she leaves him behind. Ernesto Junior watches her walk away,
          disoriented. He always has a tripod attached to his camera, as in
          "Peeping Tom".

          

          

          

          

          79. STREET, MATEO'S HOME. EXT. NIGHT.1994.


          

          
          It's the fist time we see this setting: the entrance of the building
          where Mateo lives. Almost all the windows are darkened. It's
          midnight. We watch this sequence through the 16mm camera, situated
          just in front of the building's doorway.
          We watch as Mateo appears on the sidewalk, walking toward the
          building's doorway.
          In front of the building, in the main narrative, we see Ernesto Junior
          filming with his 16mm camera. He is hiding behind a bush, or cloaked
          by a tree's shade. Either way, Mateo does not discover him.

          

          

          

          

           105

          

          80. ERNESTO MARTEL'S MANSION. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT. 1994.

          

          

          LOWER LEVEL
          At the same time that the former is taking place, Lena arrives to
          Martel's mansion. She finds Ernesto Senior with a drink in his hand,
          in one of the living areas (or playing the piano), she approaches him
          and gives him a slight kiss on the lips, in a gesture of hello.

          

          

           ERNESTO SENIOR
           (Quotidian and tranquil, an unexpected demeanor for a
           character of his temperament) How are you?

           LENA
           Good, tired.

           ERNESTO SENIOR
           And relaxed.

           LENA
           (On guard) Yes...

           ERNESTO SENIOR
           The yoga is doing you good, isn't it?

          

          
          Lena catches Ernesto's allusion, but she pretends she hasn't. She
          demonstrates her control over herself and her cold determination.

          

          

           LENA
           Yes, especially after work...

           ERNESTO SENIOR
           I am going to snack on something. Will you join me?

           LENA
           I am not hungry, I'd rather go to bed right now. I'll
           only have a yogurt.

          

          

           106

          
          Lena climbs up the long staircase, heads directly for her room.
          Ernesto listens to her steps as they recede. His ironic tranquility
          disappears and gives way to a furious expression.
          Fade to black.

          

          

          

          

          81. FRONT ENTRANCE, MATEO'S HOME. EXT. NIGHT. 1994.


          

          
          From black. (A different day.)

          

          
          Framed by the window to Mateo's living room seen from the street, one
          observes the bottom halves of Mateo's and Lena's bodies, as they move
          around the apartment. Only half of their body is visible because the
          roman shades are halfway drawn. (One gets the impression that Mateo
          is showing her around the house).
          They say goodbye.
          We see all this through a 16mm camera. Without a pause in the
          shooting we realize that the person carrying the camera crosses the
          street and waits outside of the front door to Mateo's building.

          

          

          

          

          82. FRONT DOOR TO MATEO'S BUILDING. NIGHT. EXT. 1994


          

          
          Lena exits through the door. The second she discovers the camera, she
          confronts it.

          

          

           LENA
           Ernesto, what are you doing here?

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           Working.

          

          

           107

          

           LENA
           Turn that off, you idiot! Hasn't Mateo forbidden you
           to tape us outside the shooting?

          

          
          Not far from them there is a garbage truck that is making horrendous
          noises and makes it difficult to hear what they are saying. The truck
          gets closer and the noises louder so that Ernesto Junior and Lena must
          scream back and forth at each other.

          

          

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           My father has told me not to listen to him... he wants
           to see everything.

           LENA
           You both have no scruples!

           ERNESTO JUNIOR
           Remember I am taping you.

          

          
          Lena throws herself at Ernesto Junior and attempts to take the camera
          from him. They struggle (the camera continues shooting, the images
          move around, dizzyingly). Ernesto Junior manages to break free from
          Lena. They are both out of breath. Ernesto backs up a few steps in
          order to frame Lena again and so that he can focus her image. Lena
          could take off running, but instead she stays right where she is; she
          lets Ernesto bring her into focus and frame her correctly, while she
          fixes her hair. She looks straight at the camera:

          

          

           LENA
           (In a barrage) Listen carefully, Ernesto. Yes, I am
           talking to you. (She points toward Mateo's house) I
           was just with the man I love and I am the happiest
           I've been all my life because he loves me too!
           (screams) And listen carefully, Ernesto! I will let

           108

          
           you be very soon! There is no need to spy on me.
           There is nothing left to hide!

          

          

          

          

          83. PRIVATE SCREENING ROOM, ERNESTO SENIOR'S MANSION. INT. DAY.


          1994

          

          
          (We see this at the same moment it's happening.)
          The next day, Ernesto Senior is watching the previous night's scene on
          the screen of his private projection room. We discover this when he
          is halfway into it; the images pick the action up at the point when
          Lena exits Mateo's house and confronts the camera, right after she has
          attempted to grab the camera away from Ernesto Junior.
          The shots in 16mm alternate with the shots in 35mm that belong to the
          main narrative. The sound is uproarious, we can hear what they say in
          a low volume, just as reference. Ernesto asks for the sound to be
          muted so that the "translator" can do her job.
          The "lip reader" tries, as usual, to be "neutral and inexpressive",
          but on this occasion she cannot help but have the violence of the
          scene affect her. She acts as a mere vehicle, not part of the
          conflict; nonetheless, she gets a little nervous. She is seated next
          to the volcano: Ernesto Senior, stony, frozen, silent, and about to
          explode.

          

          

          

          

          84. CONTINUED. SAME LOCATION.

          

          
          Just a little earlier, right before the dizzying images appear on
          screen, those caused by Lena's attempt to remove the camera from
          Ernesto Junior's hands:

          

          

          

          

           109

          
          On the opposite end of where the screen is, behind the back of both
          Ernesto and the translator, a door opens. Lena appears.
          She watches the scene that is unfolding on screen as she lets her
          voice rise to her mouth. (The entire dialogue in which she has
          addressed Ernesto Senior directly is seen during the action taking
          place in the projection room, not on the street.) At first, her voice
          overlaps with that of the translator, who becomes instantly silent and
          turns her head toward the door where Lena is standing. Lena is
          dubbing herself.

          

          

           LENA
           I was just with the man I love and I am the happiest
           that I've been all my life because he loves me too!
           And listen carefully, Ernesto! I will let you be very
           soon! There is no need to spy on me. I don't have
           anything left to hide!

          

          
          The translator watches Lena and Ernesto Senior, who is still
          motionless, watching the screen.
          On screen, we see Lena walking, her back turned, for a good stretch.
          With an equal obsession, she is followed down the street by the son
          and in the screening room by the father.

          

          

          

          

          85. LENA'S BEDROOM, ERNESTO'S MANSION. DUSK FALLING. 1994

          

          
          An avalanche of snow, on the television screen.
          (Some short shots of both ice and whisky as they fall into a tall
          glass function as an ellipsis between one scene and the next).

          

          

          

          

           110

          
          Lena paces around anxiously in her bedroom. She attempts to focus on
          a fashion magazine, but is unsuccessful. She takes a deep breath,
          makes a decision. She opens the closet and takes out a small, weekend
          suitcase. She fills it with her most indispensable clothes.

          

          
          She exits her bedroom, on the top floor. In the hallway, only a few
          meters separate the door to her bedroom from the stairway. There is a
          small landing just before the top of the stairs, it has a small table
          against the wall, a beautiful vase with flowers, a mirror and two
          small sofas on either side of the small table. Ernesto is seated on
          one of them, holding a glass of whisky in his right hand. It cannot
          be the first he's had. One could say he's been waiting some time now
          for Lena's exit, a bottle and an icebox keeping him company. Lena
          walks a few steps. Se approaches Ernesto, but keeps her distance.
          She speaks to him in passing.

          

          

           LENA
           (Suitcase in hand) I am leaving, Ernesto. I am leaving
           you.

           ERNESTO SENIOR
           (Cold, drunk, contemptuous) You are not going anywhere.

           LENA
           And how will you stop me?

          

          
          (Every single one of the words in this dialogue sounds laded and slow)
          No sooner has she said it than Lena realizes that it has been an
          unnecessary provocation. But it's too late to take back what's been
          said. Ernesto Senior shoots her a deathly look. But then gets up and
          changes his expression to calm her.

          

          

           ERNESTO S.
           (Pleading) Lena, please.

           111

          
          One more time, Ernesto begs forgiveness, but Lena doesn't want to see
          him or hear him. She turns and begins to descend the stairs. The
          first step.

          

          
          Ernesto approaches her slowly, from behind. He is still pleading, as
          in a litany: "Lena, please". "Lena..."

          

          

          86. CONTINUED. ON THE STAIRWAY.

          

          
          But Lena keeps her back to his supplication, descends one more step,
          her second one. Suddenly, without any change in his expression,
          Ernesto pushes her with a quick and unexpected movement of his arm.
          Lena loses her balance and falls, rolling, bouncing violently against
          the edges of the steps until her whole body hits the floor at the foot
          of the stairs. During the time the fall takes, Ernesto doesn't move,
          he watches her fall, bump by bump. He waits until she's on the floor
          and she casts him a fulminating glance, before he reacts.

          

          

          

          

          87. CONTINUED.

          

          
          Lena lands on the floor, broken and stunned by the blows.
          She lifts her head and attempts to move, but can't. Ernesto descends
          quickly and comes to her side. He begs, calmly, without violence, for
          her not to move. Lena cannot stand, her battered body only allows her
          to drag herself toward the door, like a reptile.
          Ernesto takes her, delicately, in his arms. Lena gazes at him in
          horror.

          

          

          

          

           112

          

          88. PUERTA DE HIERRO MANSION. LAWN. EXT. NIGHT. 1994


          

          
          He exits into the night, onto a green lawn, with the woman in his
          arms, they look like two newlyweds. The dogs, disconcerted, follow
          them in procession, they intuit that something is not right.

          

          
          Once inside the car (none of the hired help is there that night), he
          opens the gate from the inside and exits onto the highway.

          

          

          

          

          89. HIGHWAY. EXT. NIGHT. 1994.


          

          
          Lena is lying on the back seat, pale and in pain, but she's not
          complaining. Ernesto is driving faster than 180 Km/hr. He alerts a
          pair of patrolmen. When he realizes he's being followed, he increases
          his speed. The patrolmen signal with their lights for him to stop on
          the curb, but Ernesto Martel ignores their signal until the police car
          catches up to him and forces him to stop.

          

          

          

          

          90. A DIFFERENT SEGMENT OF THE HIGHWAY. EXT. NIGHT. 1994


          

          
          The two patrolmen get out of their vehicle and head, enraged, toward
          Ernesto. They gesture for him to lower his window.
          Ernesto lowers the window, relaxed, despite the situation. The two
          patrolmen, especially the one who calls the shots, recriminate him,
          their voices raised, for all the infractions he has just committed.
          They are very agitated and they quickly notice the high level of
          alcohol emitted by the driver's breath.
          Knocked out on the back seat, Lena observes the whole scene. Her face
          is contorted with pain and anxiety.

          

          

           113

          
          (A river of cars continues to pass nearby.)
          Using a nasty tone, one of the policemen asks Ernesto for his
          documents.
          The following conversation takes place while the policemen verify the
          vehicle's documents. Ernesto explains to them with a common sense
          that's disarming:

          

          

           ERNESTO SENIOR
           We have to get to the hospital. My wife is badly hurt...

          

          
          Lena moans in affirmation. The Policeman takes a look inside the car,
          in order to ascertain that she is indeed not faking it...

          

          

           POLICEMAN
           What's happened?

           ERNESTO
           I was in the living room and, since we weren't
           planning to go out, I started drinking early. I am
           pretty drunk, as you may notice. Suddenly, I heard a
           thump, I ran to the stairs and there she was. She
           tripped and fell down the stairs...

           POLICEMAN
           Is this true, Madam?

           LENA
           Yes... Can't you leave the paperwork for later?

           POLICEMAN
           Your husband can't drive in this condition!

           ERNESTO SENIOR
           What do you mean?

          

          
          Ernesto attempts to start the car, but the other policeman stops him.

          

          

           114

          

           POLICEMAN
           You're crazy!

          

          
          Lena moans inside the car. She may even start crying.

          

          

           LENA
           Please!

          

          
          She says this to the two men.

          

          

           POLICEMAN
           Get out of there! I will drive!

           ERNESTO S.
           Absolutely not!

           POLICEMAN
           You either let me drive or we all stay here until the
           ambulance arrives!

           LENA
           (To Ernesto) Stop it, Ernesto! Let him drive!

           POLICEMAN
           (To Ernesto, paternalistic and contemptuous) Get down
           and sit in the back, with your wife!

           ERNESTO S.
           (Threatening) If anything happens (referring to Lena),
           you better be ready... You have no idea who I am!

          

          
          Taking his time, Ernesto vacates the driver's seat and sits in the
          back, next to Lena.

          

          

           POLICEMAN

          

          

          

          

           115

          
           I will pretend that I didn't hear you. I will also
           pretend I noticed neither how drunk you are nor your
           affronts to authority, Mr. Martel.

          

          
          Sulking and with an alcohol-driven affection (and casual) he asks

          LENA:

          

          

           ERNESTO S.
           Are you all right?

           LENA
           (Screams) No! (to the policeman) And could we get (the
           fuck) going?!

          

          
          The policeman gets the car moving and his partner follows them in the
          patrol car.

          

          

          

          

          91. HOSPITAL ENTRANCE. EXT. NIGHT. 1994


          

          
          Ernesto's car, driven by the patroleman, arrives to the entrance of a
          hospital.
          Cut to.
          Immediately, at the Emergency Room, some male nurses arrive with a
          stretcher.

          

          

          

          

          92. HOSPITAL. INT. NIGHT. 1994


          

          
          X-Rays of arms, legs and head, along with all other routine tests, in
          short shots. A broken leg. Various contusions. A cast must be
          applied.

          

          

           116

          
          The image of the X-Ray takes up the whole screen. We may hear the
          nurses giving instructions. "Don't move", "Don't breathe", etc.

          

          

          

          

          93. HOSPITAL. INT. NIGHT. 1994


          

          
          The last thing we see is the X-ray of the head, which dissolves over
          Lena's head and face as she asks a nurse for the telephone, telling
          her that she needs to make an urgent phone call.
          Ernesto censures her with his look. Once the last X-ray has been
          taken, the nurse brings her a supplementary handset and plugs it in.
          She hands the handset to Lena.

          

          

           ERNESTO
           You really can't wait?

           LENA
           (Defiant) No.

          

          
          Ernesto looks at her not knowing what to expect. Nonetheless, he
          remains seated next to her. Lena doesn't react, she doesn't care if
          he overhears the conversation, she almost wants him to.
          The brutal beating to which she has been victim is an inescapable
          reality that gives her an edge over Ernesto, an edge of which she
          intends to take advantage. She is wounded, but she is no longer
          afraid of him.

          

          
          She rings Mateo's number. They greet each other.

          

          

           LENA
           Hello, Mateo?

           OFF MATEO

          

          

           117

          
           What's going on? Are you not coming?

           LENA
           Not tonight.

           OFF MATEO
           Has something happened?

           LENA
           Something unexpected has happened, but don't worry,
           everything's OK.

           OFF MATEO
           Tomorrow the shooting begins in the afternoon, will I
           see you before then?

           LENA
           I won't be able to. I will see you directly at the
           studio. I have something to do.

           OFF MATEO
           (Worried) You're acting strange, Magdalena. Are you
           sure nothing's wrong?

           LENA
           Yes. I'll see you tomorrow.

          

          

          

          

          94. THE NEXT DAY. PUERTA DE HIERRO MANSION. ON THE LAWN.

          DAY. 1994

          

          
          Ernesto Senior's car arrives at the Puerta de Hierro Mansion.
          Various members, three or four, of the Mansion's personnel approach to
          help the couple.
          Lena exits the car with her leg covered in a cast up to her knee. She
          leans on crutches or a cane.
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

           118

          

          95. MANSION. GROUND FLOOR. INT. DAY. 1994.


          

          
          The group gathers in the living room of the ground floor. Ernesto
          asks the help to bring them something and then to leave them alone.
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          96. MANSION. GROUND FLOOR. INT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          A table set ad hoc.
          Lena is sitting in front of her breakfast (or lunch), sullen, pale,
          implacable, she doesn't move a single muscle of her massacred face.

          

          
          Ernesto Senior is all sweetness toward his victim. Lena begins to
          pick at her food, listless, in silence, in order to keep her mouth and
          eyes occupied.

          

          

           ERNESTO SENIOR
           (Begs, sincerely) What would you like me to do? What
           can I do so that you will forgive me?

           LENA
           (Seriously) Take me to the studio.

           ERNESTO SENIOR
           You shouldn't move.

           LENA
           If you don't take me, I'll go there myself, even if I
           have to drag myself.

          

          
          Her face is still covered in bruises, on her cheekbone and around her
          eyes.

          

          

           119

          
          At some point someone from the hired help appears: "Sir, Madam, do you
          need anything else?". "No, you can leave us alone, I have already
          told you this, for God's sake!" Ernesto Senior responds. The servant
          quickly vanishes.
          Lowering his tone:

          

          

           ERNESTO SENIOR
           And what will you say? how will you explain the cast
           on your leg and the bruises?

          

          
          Lena appears implacable throughout the conversation.

          

          

           LENA
           It's up to you.

           ERNESTO SENIOR
           To me? I will do whatever you ask, as long as you
           promise you'll stay with me.

           LENA
           I will stay, under the condition that you let Mateo
           finish the shooting, according to what he decides.

           ERNESTO SENIOR
           He will barrage you with questions, that guy's not
           stupid.

           LENA
           I will tell him I tripped.

           ERNESTO SENIOR
           And how will you shoot, if you can't walk?

           LENA
           I don't know. Whatever Mateo decides, but I want to
           rest assured that you will respect his decision, no
           matter the cost nor the time that it will take. Is
           that clear?

           120

          
          Ernesto Senior hates to negotiate under predetermined limitations. He
          weighs out his options and realizes that Lena has the upper hand.

          

          

          

          

          97. WAREHOUSE, SHABBY STUDIO. EXT. INT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          They enter the warehouse, temporarily turned into a studio. (The
          darkness is almost absolute. A huge door opens. The silhouettes of
          Ernesto Senior and Lena, on a wheelchair, enter.)
          The dark, vast space is pierced by the blinding light of a doorway,
          which both frames and silhouettes the figures of Ernesto and Lena,
          like cut-outs; creating a powerful image. Epic and terrible.
          They bump into some of the members of the team, who begin their work
          day, slothfully.
          When Mateo discovers the pair, he approaches them immediately.
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          98. MATEO'S OFFICE, IN THE WAREHOUSE TURNED STUDIO. INT. DAY.


          1994

          

          
          Mateo is seated at a casual table. The entire decoration of the
          office is casual and chaotic, not luxurious, austere, nothing like
          Lena's dressing room. An enormous drip eats away at one of the
          corners of the room.
          Lena is sitting across from him, on a wheelchair, and seated on an
          ugly armchair, Ernesto Senior. Judit is also present, she's standing.
          They have just finished talking. Lena has told the version that she
          and Ernesto Senior agreed on.

          

          

          

          

           121

          

           LENA
           ... And that's it.

          

          
          Mateo looks at them in disbelief. Judit, still as a statue, waits for
          the others' reactions. Lena breathes, expectantly. And Ernesto
          Senior looks uncomfortable and insecure, he is used to being the one
          who calls the shots; the inverse role, that of listener, disorients
          him and puts him in a bad mood.

          

          

           LENA
           Ernesto is prepared to support whatever you decide.

           MATEO
           (Containing his rage) Decide, what?! I can't move
           from one shot where you are walking normally to
           another one where you are wearing a cast! How long
           must you wear the cast?

           LENA
           Three weeks.

          

          
          Mateo lets out a huff...

          

          

           JUDIT
           (To Ernesto Senior) Can we stop for those three
           weeks? With pay for the team, of course.

           ERNESTO S.
           If there is no other option!

           MATEO
           (A bit agitated) I hate stopping! Movies, when you
           pick them back up, are no longer the same!

          

          
          Looks at Judit and Ernesto Senior.

          

          

           122

          

           MATEO
           (Dryly) Do you mind if I speak to Lena alone for a
           moment?

          

          
          It's not a question but a demand.
          Judit shoots him a look of recrimination, as if saying "This is not
          the moment for that", but she cannot do anything to stop him.
          Ernesto Senior is also not pleased (but he knows he cannot say no, and
          this irritates him even more). He glances first at Lena, who orders
          him with her own glance to accept, and then looks at Judit, who warmly
          invites him to exit with her.
          For some reason, Ernesto Senior empathizes with that woman.

          

          

          

          

          99. WAREHOUSE, SHABBY STUDIO. NEXT TO MATEO'S DRESSING ROOM.

          INT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          Judit and Ernesto Senior exit the office and hang around not far from
          to the door. They smoke, perhaps. They are both restless. They look
          at each other as if seeking some kind of understanding, despite their
          differences. And they find it. They are joined by their jealousy.
          At the other end of the warehouse, like a mirage amongst the shadows,
          Pina's loft appears, majestic, ramshackle and mysterious. Ernesto
          contemplates it without understanding it, but is affected by its
          presence. He is unable to understand the essence of this make-belief
          game, but it's the first time he begins to grasp its hermetic
          fascination.

          

          

          

          

          100. MATEO'S OFFICE. WAREHOUSE, SHABBY STUDIO. INT. DAY. 1994


          

          

          

           123

          
          Mateo lifts her skirt in an attempt to see how far up the cast goes.
          On the white skin of her thighs, like in an uneven print, various
          asymmetrical bruises stand out. Mateo touches with his lips on every
          one of them, kissing them delicately. Lena shudders.

          

          

           LENA
           Be careful, he may walk in.

           MATEO
           Let him walk in!

          

          
          And he continues kissing her thighs until he comes close to her pubis.
          Lena lifts and/or caresses his head. Mateo lifts it to look at her.

          

          

           MATEO
           Tell me the truth! People don't fall down the stairs,
           that only happens in movies.

          

          
          Lena avoids giving a direct answer, but in her own way, she lets him
          know, somberly and urgently.

          

          

           LENA
           Mateo, we must finish the shooting as soon as
           possible! Until then, I cannot leave Ernesto.

           MATEO
           Why not? He's a psychopath! What more proof do you
           need?

           LENA
           I cannot leave, I've made a deal with him.

           MATEO
           A deal? What deal?

           LENA

          

          

           124

          
          I have promised to stay in his house in exchange for
          his letting you finish the film, under your
          conditions.

           MATEO
          But I cannot ask you for such a sacrifice.

           LENA
          You have not asked me...

           MATEO
          I can't accept it either.

           LENA
          (Pleads) Mateo, please!

           MATEO
          There must be another answer.

           LENA
          What else? The only solution is that I continue to live
          with him until you finish the film.

           MATEO
          Can you take it?

           LENA
          You don't have to think about that... What's important
          is that you finish shooting.

           MATEO
          Exactly what have you agreed to?

           LENA
          I've told you, to live under the same roof, with him
          in his room and me in mine. He doesn't have the right
          to anything more.

          

          

          

          

           MATEO
          And you think he will be content with that?

           LENA

           125

          
           (Angst-ridden) I don't know... but the sooner you
           finish shooting, the better! Come up with a reason
           not to pause!

          

          
          Mateo goes over the story in his head, desperately attempting to think
          of something. Lena observes him, expectantly. Finally, something
          seems to hit him.

          

          

           MATEO
           (Unenthusiastic) We would have to repeat part of the
           stairway scene...

          

          

          

          

          101. SHOOTING AT THE STAIRWAY. STAIRWAY LANDING, IVAN'S HOUSE.

          INT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          (Taking up the whole screen, we see the scene through the Moviola,
          with the texture of a bad copy, streaks, grain, etc. The solution
          Mateo has proposed is to repeat the last part of the sequence. On the
          surface of the Moviola screen, the reflection of Mateo's face is
          barely visible over the first set of images screened.)

          

          
          A wooden landing and stairway in a building of the old Madrid. At its
          center, an elevator, also antique.

          

          
          Pina has just left a note for Ivan on the door to his study asking him
          to please call on her, that she needs to speak to him urgently, that
          something unexpected has come up... (She is dressed as she was when she
          came out of the entrance hall in the previous scene with Chus. This
          sequence is supposed to be the one that follows it.)

          

          

          

          

           126

          
          She has just left the note when Julieta appears, she is dressed
          conventionally, but with some extravagant detail, something that
          garners attention. She bumps into Pina by the elevator, Pina does not
          know her. Julieta knocks on the studio's door (just as Pina had done
          earlier), she doesn't get an answer. She notices the note that Pina
          has just affixed on the door. She takes it down and reads it, much to
          Pina's bafflement, who has been watching her from the other side of
          the landing. After reading it, Julieta crumples it up. Pina cannot
          believe it. She remains motionless on the other side of the landing,
          because she doesn't trust the eccentric looking woman.

          

          

           PINA
           (Indignant) Leave that note there! It's not for you.
           How dare you take it and crumple it?

          

          
          Julieta throws the crumpled note through the gap in the stairway and
          looks condescendingly at Pina while she approaches her, prepared to
          walk down the stairs.

          

          

           JULIETA
           What do you have to speak to Ivan about, you whore!

           PINA
           It's none of your business.

           JULIETA
           I am his wife.

           PINA
           His wife has been admitted at a psychiatric hospital
           for twenty years now.

           JULIETA
           Not anymore.

          

          

          

          

           127

          

          UP TO THIS POINT WE WATCH THE SEQUENCE THROUGH THE IMAGE-TEXTURE OF

          THE MOVIOLA AND THE REFLECTION OF MATEO'S FACE.
          (These images are what will be retained from what had been shot
          previously.)

          

          

          

          

          102. SHOOTING AT THE STAIRWAY. CONTINUED.

          

          
          Pina makes a gesture as if to say: "So you are the ex-wife, the crazy
          one."
          Pina and Julieta begin to descend the stairs.

          

          

           JULIETA
           (Repeats) I am no longer committed. I am now here
           with you. Walking down the stairs.

          

          
          Pina looks at her apprehensively... She steps down only one
          stair.

          

          

           JULIETA
           You are in a hurry to see him, aren't you?

           PINA
           Yes...

           JULIETA
           Well, what are you waiting for!

          

          
          She pushes her and Pina falls, rolling all the way to the bottom.
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          103. WAREHOUSE, SHABBY PLATEAU. VARIOUS SPACES. 1994

          

          

           128

          
          Images that indicate the passing of time during the shooting. Short
          sequences of the minute work done by each of the teams, as if
          assembling ballet pieces, all of it accompanied by a musical score:
          The D.P. sets up the lighting for the shoot, the bulbs are lit, the
          filters applied, the interior of the camera cleaned, the film is
          loaded. The atmosphere is set. Pina in her bedroom, lying on the
          bed, with one leg in a cast, is relaxing, breathing deeply. The
          actress playing Chon jokes around with the costume team, they laugh.
          But no one pays attention to the others. Edurne, in a close-up,
          retouches one of Pina's eyes. The mouth as well. Chon stops laughing
          so that the hair-stylist may shape her hair.
          All the images are very brief... The score predominates, the ambient
          sounds of the activities of the different teams is heard more like a
          whisper. The scene must not last longer than a minute. This set of
          images serves to abridge time and to indicate that the shooting is in
          its final days, after a long journey.
          There will probably not be many images, but less: the bulb that
          lights, Lena's eye as Edurne retouches it, its blinking, its sadness.
          Chon's mouth as she speaks without pause, stopping only when lipstick
          is added. The film loaded, the hair fluffed. Lena lying on the rug
          in her dressing room, totally motionless, her eyes made-up and closed,
          doing breathing exercises for relaxation, her leg in a cast, etc.
          Motor. Action!

          

          

          

          

          104. WAREHOUSE STUDIO. PINA'S LOFT. 1994

          

          

          SCENE FROM "GIRLS AND SUITCASES"

          

          

          

          

           129

          
          The doorbell rings in the loft. Pina limps over to the door. She
          looks through the metal peephole, its design creates an optical
          illusion. On the other side of the peephole, Chon's exalted eyes
          appear. Chon is a Better Midler type, in her 40s, that kind of
          extroverted woman who at first glance appears chubby but isn't quite
          so. She is wearing designer clothes, despite the fact that her
          demeanor is direct and crass. Both of them, Pina and Chon, are tired
          and hysterical, which each one of them interprets in her own way.
          Pina opens the door and Chon enters. Even though they are good
          friends, the last thing Pina is in the mood for is to see Chon, much
          less an over-excited Chon with "problems".

          

          

           PINA
           (Whispers) What a drag! (she opens the door, in a
           languid, bored tone) Oh, it's you?

           CHON
           (Reproaches, depressed) I've left you a thousand
           messages!

           PINA
           Yes...

          

          
          Chon notices Ivan's suitcase in the middle of the foyer and looks at
          it as if she'd never seen a suitcase.

          

          

           CHON
           And this suitcase?!

          

          
          Judging from the tone, one would guess she could care less. But the
          script asks for her to inquire about the suitcase and she inquires.

          

          

           PINA
           (Sounding bored, asleep) It's Ivan's. He's leaving me.

           130

          
          Chon, disconcerted, notices that Pina drags herself around with a cast
          on her leg.
          (She has picked up Pina's inexpressive tone)

          

          

           CHON
           And that broken leg?

           PINA
           His ex-wife, the crazy one. She pushed me down the
           stairs . . .

           CHON
           I see, we're in great shape...

           MATEO
           (Interrupts the take) Cut!

          

          
          Final clap board. It's take number twelve.

          

          

          

          

          105. SHOOTING AND SURROUNDINGS. INT. EXT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          The camera team directs "load camera" (new film stock is loaded, the
          one already inside has run out).
          Mateo has a look of worry, the scene is not funny at all, the
          actresses are bored and tense. They behave like automatons. Lena
          looks at Mateo, she had never seen him so disconsolate.

          

          
          A general impasse and discouragement. The team betrays boredom,
          preoccupation, and exhaustion.

          

          

          

          

           131

          
          The actress playing Chon grumbles, annoyed. Juanba, the hair-stylist,
          approaches her to fix her hair. In the background, one sees Mateo
          speaking to Lena.

          

          
          Ernesto Junior wanders around the set.
          We suppose that he has already shot the other takes, we notice a
          change in his attitude. He watches Lena and Mateo converse, then
          watches them as they move away from the set; he has no intention of
          following them. One might say that he is now on their side, against
          his own father.

          

          

          

          

           WAREHOUSE, SHABBY STUDIO. AWAY FROM THE LOFT. AT THE

          106.

          

          MAKE-UP & HAIR DRESSING ROOM, OR SOME OTHER PLACE. 1994

          

          
          In some place of the warehouse where no one can see them and they can
          speak calmly. Mateo and Lena.
          During this time, Lena has been keeping her end of the deal and
          continues to live with Ernesto Martel but, as much as she attempts to
          diffuse it, its effect has been devastating. She is very depressed.
          She can hardly hold herself up. Lena's state of mind and how it
          affects the shooting, makes Mateo feel impotent and guilty.

          

          

           LENA
           (Distressed, maybe she'll cry) I am sorry...

           MATEO
           Don't worry, it will turn out. (Acknowledges) But I
           don't know what more direction to give you.

           LENA
           (Exhausted, hard on herself) You have told me
           everything, in every way possible...

          

          

           132

          

           MATEO
           (Somber and guilty) Ernesto is getting just what he
           hoped. That we make a piece of crap of a movie! I
           told you not to agree to that deal...

          

          
          Lena breathes, grasping for a solution and for breath. She attempts
          to regain her strength.

          

          

           LENA
           We can't let him have his way! (She dries her tears,
           feeling newly replenished) Every day I arrive worn
           out and every day I recover, right?

           MATEO
           (Acknowledges) Yes...

           LENA
           I ask you only for a bit more patience... And a kiss!

          

          
          Mateo kisses her as one kisses one shipwrecked, although the one
          shipwrecked is really him. In any case, the kiss brings life back to
          both of them.

          

          

          

          

          107. LOFT PINA. REPEAT THE TAKE. 1994

          

          
          Motor. Action. The clap board indicates that they will shoot take
          number thirteen. A traveling shot follows Lena as she limps toward
          the door. She looks through the peephole, behind it, Chon. They are
          supposed to be good friends, but she's the last person Lena wants to
          see.

          

          

           PINA

          

          

           133

          
           (Whispers) What a drag! (contemptuous, she greets
           her) Oh, it's you?

           CHON
           Listen, if that's how you'll greet me, I'll leave.

           PINA
           No, c'mon! Come inside!

          

          
          Pina treats her with a friendly disdain, which plays comically. She
          has once again recovered her strength and her lightness. Her low
          spirits have disappeared and she comes off thoughtless and impudent.
          Her reenactment has an effect on Chon, who also performs much better
          than in the previous take.

          

          
          These first few phrases are enough to determine that the two actresses
          have improved. Lena is now a different actress, light and delicious.
          Mateo smiles, brimming with admiration.

          

          

          

          

          108. EDITING ROOM. INT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          Mateo and his editor (and the assistant editor) watch the end of the
          sequence on the Moviola.

          

          

           MATEO
           She's so much better! Grab this one!

           LUIS
           Yes.

          

          
          Mateo smiles, satisfied. On the same table where the Moviola sits,
          Luis, the editor, has a notebook in which each page corresponds to a

          

          

          

          

           134

          
          sequence, numbered respectively. The sequences are divided by shots
          and the shots by the number of takes.
          Luis draws a circle around take number thirteen.

          

          

           MATEO
           Let's look at fourteen, it's even better!

          

          
          Luis, an editing assistant and Mateo, sitting in front of the Moviola,
          examine the footage.
          There is a palpable complicity between Luis and Mateo. Luis has edited
          all of Mateo's films, they have been colleagues for a long time. As
          with Judit, despite their differences, one can tell that Luis belongs
          to Mateo's artistic family.
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          109. EDITING ROOM. INT. EVENING. 1994


          

          
          Time passes.
          The characters are dressed differently.
          As they load the film and sound onto the Moviola, we hear Harry's
          voice-off.
          Only audio:

          

          
          YEAR 2008. VOICE-OFF OF HARRY SPEAKING TO DIEGO. We hear it over the
          running Moviola.

          

          

           OFF HARRY
           When we finished shooting, I quickly selected all the
           takes for the film so that I could rescue Lena as soon
           as possible from the Martel house. The situation had

          

          

           135

          
           worsened, we could hardly see each other, he had
           practically kidnapped her... They were difficult days for
           everyone, but Lena insisted that I leave all the takes
           selected... then, we could leave.

          

          
          He hasn't finished saying this when we hear the phone ring. The
          assistant, phone in hand: (to Mateo) "It's for you". He takes it,
          surprised, he is still staring at the Moviola screen. It's Lena.

          

          

           OFF
           It's Magdalena.

           MATEO
           Is there something wrong?

           OFF
           No. I'm downstairs. I've forgotten my money. I have
           to pay the cab . . .

           MATEO
           I'll be right down.

          

          
          He exits the editing room.

          

          

          

          

          110. CINEARTE [EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION STUDIO]. STAIRWAY.

          INT. NIGHT. 1994


          

          
          Mateo descends the stairs of Cinearte at a good clip, he wasn't
          expecting Lena's visit. He can sense something's happened.
          When he arrives at the foyer, he can't find her.
          The phone operator (ugly, but polite) at the reception desk tells him
          Lena is in the bathroom.

          

          

          

          

           136

          

          111. CINEARTE. COSTUMER'S BATHROOM. INT. NIGHT. 1994


          

          
          He enters the bathroom and finds Lena, barefoot, wearing only her bra
          and panties, cleaning wounds she's suffered on her face and legs. The
          surface of the sink is tainted with blood. Mateo looks at her,
          horrified. (She is no longer wearing a cast). A man's jacket lies on
          top of the counter, this is the only piece of clothing that appears in
          this scene.

          

          

           MATEO
           (Horrified) But . . . what has happened?!

           LENA
           We have had a brutal fight... At the end, he ripped my
           clothes off and my shoes and he threw me out naked onto
           the highway. The jacket belongs to the cab driver.
           You must give him a good tip, if it weren't for him I
           don't know how I would have made it here...

          

          
          Mateo cannot believe his eyes. He hurls insults at Ernesto Senior.
          Lena's apparent composure is purely hysterical.

          

          

          

          

          112. CINEARTE. EXT. NIGHT. 1994


          

          
          Mateo and Lena exit Cinearte.
          They enter a cab that is waiting for them.

          

          

           MATEO
           (To the cab driver) Take us to the nearest police
           station...

          

          

           137

          

           LENA
           No, please...

           MATEO
           We must denounce him, Magdalena!

           LENA
           He will turn against you!

          

          
          The cab begins moving.
          Mateo gives the cab driver his address.

          

          

           LENA
           No, not your house.

           MATEO
           We have to look after you. Let's go to a hotel...

           LENA
           (Pleads) Let's leave Madrid.

          

          
          Mateo looks through his pockets, fortunately, he has all his credit
          cards on him.

          

          

          

          

          113. LANZAROTE. FAMARA BEACH. BUNGALOW ZONE. EXT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          Mateo and Lena are living in a bungalow zone on Famara Beach, a
          complex nestled between the beach and the foot of a mountain. It is a
          special and intimate place, like an enormous grotto, where the sky is
          its ceiling and the mountains one of its walls.

          

          
          Lena and Mateo exit a bungalow and get into a rented car, a red Opel
          Corsa, not in very good shape.

          

          

          

          

           138

          

          114. EL GOLFO BEACH. EXT. AT DAY'S END. 1994


          

          
          On the peak of a reddish rock, on Golfo Beach, Mateo takes photographs
          of the natural wonders surrounding him. Next to him, Lena
          contemplates the view.
          What Mateo sees with his camera:
          a) Wine colored rocks
          b) The yellow-green lake circumscribed by a rope that has become
          white, against the black sand.
          c) The black sand of the enormous beach, licked by the shimmering foam
          of the waves.
          d) The rocky walls enveloping the beach, eroded through centuries by
          the wind on the surface of which it has created peaks and valleys
          resembling the jutted edge of a watch cog.

          

          
          One of the images captures part of a wine-colored rock. Below it, the
          infinite surface of the black beach, licked by the white foam of the
          waves. In the backdrop, an immense limestone wall, its surface full of
          pit holes where the wind circulates.
          The sequence ends with a close-up of the click of Mateo's camera's
          shutter, opening and closing like an owl's eye.

          

          

          

          

          115. SOUVENIR AND PHOTOGRAPHY STORE. LANZAROTE. INT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          Mateo-Harry and Lena pick up their photos at the store's counter. The
          owner of the shop hands them to him, he is an attractive and bohemian
          middle-aged man.
          Mateo opens the envelope impatiently, he wants to make sure that his
          photographs are, in effect, the ones inside it.

          

          

           139

          
          He looks at the last one closely, the landscape with the rocks, the
          beach, the foam, etc. Somewhere on the vast black-sand beach one can
          make out a couple, their size is tiny compared to the immensity of the
          beach. The two are melded into a tight embrace. The beach is
          deserted. Mateo had not been aware of them when he took the
          photograph and is overtaken by his discovery.
          He shows it to Lena. Half-joking.

          

          

           MATEO
           Look. It's us. (I thought it was empty)

          

          
          Mateo asks the bohemian Attendant for a larger print.

          

          

          

          

          116. MATEO AND LENA, INSIDE THE CAR, ON THE HIGHWAY. EXT. DAY.


          1994

          

          
          They go through various traffic circles. Mateo comments that it is
          "the island of the useless traffic circles". "That's part of its
          charm", comments Lena.

          

          

          

          

          117. TRAFFIC CIRCLE WITH CESAR MANRIQUE SCULPTURE. EXT. DAY.


          1994

          

          
          They stop on one of the stop signs at the traffic circle. In the
          center there is a huge mobile sculpture by Cesar Manrique, rocked by
          the wind.
          Mateo and Lena exit the car to take pictures of themselves. Their
          faces close together, their eyes happy. The sculpture turning around
          itself produces a strange screeching sound.

          

          

           140

          

          118. BUNGALOW. FAMARA BEACH. INT. DUSK OR NIGHT. 1994


          

          
          Many days have passed. Mateo's hair is longer and he appears more
          tan, the proximity to nature and the absence of a social life has also
          affected Magdalena's appearance, now much more savage, but also more
          serene and more humble. She is dressed in cheap clothing, which she
          has bought on the island (and which fits her marvelously) and her hair
          is pulled up into a messy bun.

          

          
          The photograph, enlarged, presides on top of a small table where Mateo
          writes. The picture is leaning against the wall. It's the only image
          inside the bungalow. The photograph is a clear metaphor for the
          mysterious quality of the island as well as of the isolation of Mateo
          and Lena and of their fusion.

          

          
          While Mateo writes, Lena cleans the dishes or she does the laundry in
          the bathtub. The two wear T-shirts, comfortable and sporty clothes.
          (On the tape-deck one hears La Lupe singing: ... "porque hay un hombre
          para cada mujer y una mujer para cada hombre, y nosotros somos,
          nosotros somos... la pareja" [because there is only one man for each
          woman and only one woman for each man, and we are, and we are... the
          couple]). Mateo and Magdalena, the couple.

          

          
          In the bungalow there isn't much furniture; there's a large couch on
          which they can lie comfortably, a short table, along with the wooden
          table on which Mateo writes. Some armchair and lamps. And a tape-
          deck.
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

           141

          

          119. BUNGALOW. INT. DUSK OR NIGHT. 1994


          

          
          Engulfed by the couch, Mateo and Lena are absorbed watching, on a
          small television, a broadcast of "Voyage in Italy" (Roberto
          Rossellini's).
          The scene they are watching is set in a place where a group of men are
          working on some excavation. The married couple (in the midst of their
          breakup), played by George Sanders and Ingrid Bergman, is on a tourist
          trip in that area of Italy and they have gone to visit the excavation.
          One of the technicians describes the delicate work that is involved in
          excavating part of a city that had been buried, centuries ago, by the
          lethal eruption of the Vesuvius.
          At that moment, the men who are working on the excavation begin, bit
          by bit, to uncover a couple, a man and a woman, sleeping in an
          embrace, whom the eruption had taken unaware, leaving them preserved
          in this position for centuries.
          Ingrid Bergman cannot stand the sight of this couple calcined in an
          eternal embrace. She compares it to her own marriage, destroyed by
          their lack of communication and by the absence of generosity between
          them. She walks away from the place, unable to contain her tears.
          The scene affects Magdalena and Mateo as much as it had Ingrid
          Bergman.
          Mateo and Lena instinctively embrace each other, seeking refuge in
          each other, their posture echoes that of the calcined couple.

          

          
          Suddenly, Mateo breaks their embrace. He positions the camera on top
          of the table where he writes, not far from where the image of the
          other "embrace" sits. He points it toward the couch and he presses
          the automatic button. And they take a picture together, locked in an
          embrace.

          

          

           142

          

          120. PUBLIC PARK. MADRID. EXT. DAY. 2008


          

          
          Harry and Diego, now completely cured, are sitting on a bench.

          

          

           HARRY
           Do you want to go back home and return to the "Donate
           Blood" story?

           DIEGO
           I am hoping to get back to it, but first tell me what
           happened in Lanzarote. You can't leave me hanging!

          

          
          Harry takes a deep breath. At this stage of the narrative, it is only
          understandable that Diego would want to know everything. But it pains
          him to think of what is still left to tell.

          

          

           HARRY
           Without realizing, a month had elapsed... I knew that
           sooner or later we would have to return, but we kept
           postponing it. I was only worried about you and your
           mother. I had not even said goodbye and you were still
           suffering from your allergy problem when we left... I can
           imagine Judit was furious with me.

           DIEGO
           You can't imagine how much.

           HARRY
           I was planning to return soon to finish the editing...
           and to explain things to your mother. But Magdalena
           decided she'd wait for me on the island. She couldn't
           stand the thought of seeing Ernesto again.

          

          

           143

          

          121. OFFICE FOR THE FAMARA BUNGALOWS. INT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          Mateo and Lena are walking toward the office for the bungalow complex.
          (Part of the previous dialogue is heard as the couple are approaching
          the office)

          

          

          

          

          121. A. INTERIOR OF THE RECEPTION HALL, FAMARA BUNGALOWS. INT.


          DAY. 1994

          

          
          Behind the counter there are two foreign employees, a man and a woman.
          Lena addresses them in English, while Mateo keeps himself busy at the
          other end of the reception hall, next to a table with magazines and
          newspapers. He grabs a newspaper.
          In English:

          

          

           LENA
           Sorry to interrupt... I wanted to ask if there are any
           employment opportunities available here, with you... You
           always look so busy... I have a lot of free time...

           EMPLOYEE
           We could use the help, especially now that the high
           season is about to start... Do you have experience?

           LENA
           I have worked as a secretary at M. Capital, a very
           important finance company.

           EMPLOYEE
           (Looks at her) You could first work during the
           afternoons and, then, we could see...

          

          

           144

          
          With his back to the counter, at the other end of the reception desk,
          Mateo reads a newspaper, frozen.
          Suddenly, the employee opens a National newspaper and looks for a
          particular page. He shows it to Lena. On the Entertainment page, an
          ad for Mateo's movie (Opening Soon). The ad is a close-up of her, in
          her role as Pina, in the movie. Lena is stunned. She can't believe
          it.

          

          

           EMPLOYEE
           We were just saying that the girl in the ad looks like
           you.

          

          
          Lena looks toward where Mateo is standing and she notices that he is
          as perplexed as she is, staring at the ad for a soon-to-be-released
          film in the newspaper.

          

          

           LENA
           (To the employee) No. It's not me.

          

          
          They exit the office.

          

          

          

          

          122. BUNGALOW COMPLEX. EXT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          Mateo and Lena walk toward their bungalow as if someone were chasing
          them. They have just run into the very thing they have been
          attempting to escape in Madrid.

          

          

           MATEO
           I was wondering how long it would take him to emerge!

          

          

           145

          

           LENA
           (Disoriented) But they can't release the film so
           soon, right?

           MATEO
           No. It's a scheme to annoy us, and a trap to get you
           to return. The ad is only lacking the words "Missing."

           LENA
           What are we going to do?

           MATEO
           Nothing. Fuck them!

          

          

          

          

          123. TWO WEEKS LATER. ON FAMARA BEACH. EXT. DAY. 1994


          

          

          A TITLE TAKING UP THE WHOLE SCREEN: TWO WEEKS LATER

          

          
          A few surfers are preparing to go into the ocean. A father and his
          young son toss their kites into the wind.
          Lounging on lounge chairs, on a cobble-stone area before one reaches
          the sand, Lena and Mateo-Harry are reading the news of the opening of
          the film in a National newspaper. They only have one copy and Mateo's
          eyes are transfixed on the news.
          The note accompanying the event says, in bold type:
          "The financier, Ernesto Martel, has managed to gather all of Madrid
          for his first film as a producer, missing are only its director and
          star."
          Two pictures accompany the news of the event. Printed next to them,
          there is a review entitled, "Disaster."
          Mateo throws the newspaper away from him, enraged. He refuses to read
          the review.

          

          

           146

          
          The wind dishevels the newspaper pages. Lena rises and chases the
          pages that fly, like kites, slightly above the ground.
          In mid-flight, she catches the Entertainment page and reads it as she
          approaches Mateo, who watches the ocean, feeling impotent, furious,
          unable to quite grasp what is happening.
          Lena sits down next to him, still reading.

          

          

           MATEO
           (Disconsolate) What does it say?

           LENA
           That the only intelligent thing we have done has been
           not to attend the premier, that my acting is pathetic,
           that you seem like a first-time director and that you
           lack talent. At the end, it wonders who might have
           made your first films. Never before has such a
           resounding downfall been witnessed... How horrible!

          

          
          Mateo rises and heads quickly for the bungalow, which functions as the
          office for the complex.
          Lena follows him, alarmed.

          

          

           LENA
           What are you going to do?

          

          

          

          

          124. OFFICE FOR BUNGALOW COMPLEX. FAMARA BEACH. INT. DAY. 1994


          

          
          Cut to, directly to the shot of the telephone. Mateo has just dialed
          Judit's number. He gets the answering machine, hearing Judit's voice
          encourages him to leave a message. "Hi. You have reached Judit

          

          

          

          

           147

          
          Garcia's voicemail. Leave your message after the tone and I will
          return your call as soon as possible."
          Mateo leaves his message.

          

          

           MATEO
           (Dryly) Judit. It's me. I hope you and the boy are
           OK. I apologize that I left without notice, but
           terrible things have happened, I will explain.
           Speaking of which, I need to talk to you, urgently.
           Please call me! Here's the number... (Asks one of the
           employees) Oh, and, ask for Harry Caine, I have
           registered under that name... (said almost as an order)
           I will be waiting for your call!

          

          
          He also rings Luis, the editor. He also doesn't answer. He leaves
          Luis a shorter and more violent message.

          

          

           MATEO
           Luis, I just read in the newspaper that the film has
           opened and I am beside myself!! I don't know what the
           fuck is going on there, but I would like to know! OK,
           I'll ring back!

          

          
          He looks at Lena, breathless, his face contorted from sheer
          helplessness.

          

          

          

          

          125. RETURN TO 2008. HARRY'S HOME. DEN. DAY.

          

          
          Harry is standing, pacing back and forth. Diego stands next to the
          bookcase. The drawer with the photographs is open.

          

          

           148

          
          He looks at the photograph of the traffic circle and at the one of
          "The embrace" on the black sand of Golfo Beach.
          He has taken them out of the large brown envelope. At the bottom of
          the drawer one can begin to see Luis' (the editor) notebook. Diego is
          holding a Dymo label machine, (this Dymo has appeared in previous
          scenes) with all of its keyboard buttons, corresponding to the regular
          alphabet, in Braille. He is writing, in Braille, "Famara ­ Lanzarote
          94" so that he can stick the raised title onto the old envelope.

          

          

           DIEGO
           And mom, did she call you back?

           HARRY
           No.

           DIEGO
           (Can't understand, he's almost indignant) Why?

           HARRY
           She was pissed, I suppose.

           DIEGO
           I remember that time, it was while I was undergoing
           treatment for pulmonary aspergillosis. It was a
           horrible time for me... Not just because of the illness,
           my mother was like a crazy woman... I had just seen "The
           Exorcist" and, for some time, I believed she was
           possessed...

           HARRY
           (Smiles pathetically) I was the demon, Diego. And I
           am sorry. I suppose I behaved selfishly, but I am not
           sure I had a choice...

          

          
          Diego thinks about this.

          

          

           DIEGO

           149

          
           (Emotionally exhausted) No matter how upset she was,
           she should have alerted you to what was happening.

           HARRY
           The fact is she never did, and we've never spoken of
           it. Neither one of us has broached the topic.

           DIEGO
           (Surprised) And you weren't curious?...

           HARRY
           (Emphatically) Me? Curiosity was killing me! For
           two days I called both your mother and Luis non-stop,
           the editor (says it agitated), but neither of them
           answered! So I decided to return to Madrid the next
           day so that I could witness what was happening for
           myself!

          

          

          126. RESTAURANT. EL MIRADOR [THE LOOKOUT]. EXT. DUSK. 1994


          

          
          (Night falls while they dine.)
          Mateo and Magdalena dine at "El Mirador," a local restaurant with
          spectacular views. Their table is beside a long sliding-door window
          that overlooks the valley. A group of rocks seem to grow next to the
          window as if they were plants made of stone. The view of the valley
          is breathtaking.
          There are few patrons inside the restaurant. Perhaps a foreign
          couple, sitting far from Lena and Mateo. A waiter brings their first
          course. They are drinking wine.
          Lena appears melancholic and fearful.

          

          

           MATEO
           How did you meet Ernesto Senior?

           LENA

          

          

           150

          
           (It's not a topic she likes, but she doesn't hesitate
           to answer.) I was one of his secretaries.

           MATEO
           And... how did you end up with him? You fell in love?

           LENA
           He was very generous with me and my family. My father
           was dying, I needed to take him to a private Hospital
           and Ernesto took care of everything... He paid for
           everything... And he made sure that my parents could
           return to their home town and that they lacked nothing...

          

          
          Mateo imagines the situation, it upsets him. He is perturbed by the
          very idea of Lena's past with Ernesto, but he doesn't want to upset
          her on the night before his departure. They have gone out to dinner
          with just the opposite intent.

          

          

           MATEO
           (Lovingly) Pardon me, I have no right to ask you about
           that time in your life.

           LENA
           It's only natural that you would want to know. And I
           don't want any skeletons between us. (Unguarded) I
           would like to be able to forget all that, but you have
           the right to ask.

           MATEO
           (Assuring her) No. I do not have any right. For me,
           you were born the day you came for the audition. You
           looked at me, I saw your face and... I was left
           hypnotized.

          

          
          Lena smiles. She is both comforted and relived by remembering that
          moment.

           151

          

           LENA
           I remember your face perfectly. I think I fell in
           love with the way you looked at me. I thought: this
           man will be my salvation.

          

          
          Mateo is moved by her use of those terms to speak of their first
          meeting.

          

          
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          126. A. CIRCULAR PARKING AT "EL MIRADOR." EXT. NIGHT. 1994


          

          
          They exit in an embrace and head toward their car, parked nearby.
          They kiss before they get in the car. We notice another car which we
          will have the occasion to recall in the future, the camera gives it
          just a passing glance.

          

          

           LENA
           (Childish) It's the first time we part...

           MATEO
           (Pampering) Either way, I will return next weekend.
           But if you are going to be worried, you should come
           with me.

           LENA
           No... I will be better off here.

          

          
          And she smiles, as if the worry has already passed, so as not to
          disquiet Mateo.

          

          

          

          

           152

          

          127. IN MOVEMENT. THE ISLAND, NIGHTTIME. INSIDE AND OUTSIDE

          OF THE CAR. LANZAROTE. 1994.

          

          
          View of the sea of lava or of La Geria in an aerial shot with the car
          moving across the landscape. The full moon allows us to glimpse
          through the darkness of the landscape.
          Mateo's car once again heads for the bungalow complex. Show the
          highway illuminated by the headlights and the landscape as it appears
          to its left and right.

          

          
          From inside the car, one can see the mobile sculpture of Cesar
          Manrique at a distance.

          

          

           MATEO
           (Very insecure) And did I manage to save you from
           anything?

           LENA
           (Enigmatic and unwavering) Yes!

          

          
          Lena does not elaborate on the dangers that Mateo has saved her from,
          he doesn't understand them exactly, but he likes to hear her say so.

          

          
          They approach the traffic circle. A set of lights first betrays the
          presence of a car that appears from the left. Mateo yields to it, and
          briefly kisses Magdalena on the lips.

          

          
          Mateo continues on his way, a short instant later, as he enters the
          traffic circle, an SUV moving at full speed crashes into them.

          

          

          

          

           153

          
          Everything happens very fast. From inside the car, without any
          particular attention to Lena or Mateo, the screen fills up with light,
          noise and darkness. All the different noises form a deafening magma.

          

          
          At the center of the traffic circle, Cesar Manrique's sculpture
          rotates, propelled by the wind.

          

          
          In any case, we will also shoot the crash from the outside. And
          although it will not be obvious at first sight, the back side of
          Mateo's car is illuminated by the headlights of a car that we never
          quite see, but which has been a witness to the accident.

          

          

          

          

          128. TRAFFIC CIRCLE WITH MOBILE SCULPTURE. LANZAROTE. EXT.


          NIGHT. 1994.

          

          
          The huge mobile sculpture by Cesar Manrique continues to rotate with
          the wind immediately following the collision.
          One can hear the screeching wheels of the SUV escaping from the
          accident scene. One also hears the sound of a second vehicle, which
          approaches and stops, and something that sounds like a door opening
          and a moan.
          The camera only focuses on the sculpture, swaying in the wind.

          

          

          

          

          129. MATEO-HARRY'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. 2008.


          

          
          Diego looks at Harry in silence, he doesn't say a word. He is still
          holding the Dymo. Harry also says nothing.

          

          

           OFF HARRY

          

          

           154

          
           Magdalena's death didn't catch us melded in an embrace,
           but sitting on separate seats. It caught me by
           surprise, in that of leaving me alive.

          

          
          When Harry's face once again appears, we begin to hear his voice-off.

          

          

          

          

          130. OUTSIDE A HOSPITAL. LANZAROTE. EXT. DAY. 1994.


          

          
          The entrance to a Hospital in Lanzarote.
          Through one of the windows, we can see Mateo's gaunt and nebulous
          figure resting on a bed, his head bandaged.

          

          

          

          

          131. INSIDE THE HOSPITAL ROOM. LIGHT COMING THROUGH THE

          WINDOW. INT DAY. 1994.

          

          
          Just as in the beginning, Judit is next to Mateo's bed. She is
          holding his hand and begs him:

          

          

           JUDIT
           Mateo, say something!

           HARRY
           Mateo is dead, Judit.

           JUDIT
           (Bags under her eyes and tearful) Don't say that!

          

          

          

          

          132. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. PSYCHIATRIC WARD. INT. DAY. 1994.


          

          

          

          

           155

          
          A naturalist décor and stage-setting of an island Hospital of that
          era, located in a very picturesque place. Through the window we can
          see the local surroundings. The walls are a pastel color, green or
          blue, an aquatic color, and they have various spots where humidity has
          seeped through.
          Other than the psychiatrist, there is another doctor present,
          explaining the situation to Judit.

          

          

           PSYCHIATRIST
           We call him by his name, but he doesn't respond to it.
           He insists Mateo has died.

           JUDIT
           Images are the source of his work... and to live in the
           dark, I suppose that's death to him... Is there any
           chance he will see?

           DOCTOR
           None. His is what we refer to as a cortical
           blindness, and it's irreversible. It's the result of
           a lesion to the occipital lobe, the intelligent part
           of the brain, which has the role of processing all
           visual information. In other words, the neurons have
           died... and that's permanent...

          

          

          

          

          133. HOSPITAL. EXIT. EXT. DAY. 1994.


          

          

           OFF HARRY
           I felt as though I had died with Lena. The Mateo-
           film-director who had left Madrid would never return.

          

          
          Days or weeks later.

          

          

           156

          
          Judit exits the hospital, with blind-Mateo (he's hidden behind black
          sunglasses), now without the bandages or very few, and with little
          Diego (eight years old), holding hands. Mateo walks tentatively and
          slowly. He will probably be aided by the typical blind man's cane.
          They get into a car that is waiting for them. Judit instructs the
          driver to take them to Famara Beach, to the bungalow complex.

          

          

          

          

          134. LANZAROTE. ROUTE TO FAMARA. HIGHWAY. EXT. DAY. 1994.


          

          

          A CLOUDY AND WINDY DAY.

          

          
          (This is a good opportunity to show some of the more dramatic
          landscapes of the island. The lava sea, black and twisted, and the
          rented car that crosses it through the highway that divides it. Or
          "La Geria" and its vine stalks buried in half-spheres of black dirt to
          protect them from the winds. The green palm tree fronds flop around
          against the backdrop of this black-dirt landscape.)

          

          
          Inside the car, Mateo asks Judit:

          

          

           MATEO
           Did you visit Lena's mother at her hometown?

           JUDIT
           Yes.

           MATEO
           What did she say?

           JUDIT
           She was very thankful to Ernesto for having taken care
           of everything...

           MATEO

          

          

           157

          
           That's it?

           JUDIT
           Yes, they buried her next to her father.

           MATEO
           Did you visit the grave?

           JUDIT
           Yes.

          

          
          Mateo nods in defeated acknowledgement.

          

          

          

          

          135. FAMARA BEACH. BUNGALOW COMPLEX. EXT. DAY. 1994.


          

          

          A CLOUDY AND WINDY DAY.

          

          
          The car stops in front of the bungalow that functions as the
          "Reception Desk" for the complex.
          Judit and little Diego exit. Judit helps Mateo out.
          Mateo remains glued to the ground. He can't move. Judit stares at
          him. Even though Mateo had renounced being Mateo, he has inherited
          his most painful memories. Being near the RECEPTION bungalow, and
          thus near the bungalow where he lived with Magdalena, generates some
          kind of spasm in him that keeps him from moving. He feels an intense
          heat (inside and outside of him), as if he were approaching a bonfire
          the flames of which would slowly scorch him, were he to move.
          (Perhaps we'll have to inlay the image with the flames of an imaginary
          conflagration). The face contorted.

          

          

           JUDIT
           What's wrong?

           MATEO

          

          

           158

          
           (Weakened) You go... I can't... I'll wait for you on the beach.

          

          
          The idea excites little Diego.

          

          

           DIEGUITO
           I also want to go to the beach!

          

          
          He approaches Mateo and instinctively grabs his hand. Judit watches
          the couple. The situation unfolds before she can stop it.

          

          

           MATEO
           Do whatever you need to do. We'll wait for you there.

          

          
          Judit is worried about the wind. She buttons Diego's jacket and wraps
          his scarf around him. She does the same thing with Mateo.

          

          

           JUDIT
           Bundle up! And don't get too close to the water. (To
           little Diego) Don't let go of his hand!

          

          
          Little Diego grabs Mateo's hand. Despite the wind, the boy is excited
          about the idea of going to the beach. He has just become Mateo's
          guide and Mateo lets him guide him, like a somnambulist.

          

          

          

          

          136. BUNGALOWS OFFICE. INT. DAY. 1994.


          

          
          In the offices of the complex, the two employees are in the middle of
          a brawl. (Consult with the original) In front of the desk, Judit
          addresses one of them, in English.

          

          

          

          

           159

          

           JUDIT
           I am here to pay Mateo Blanco's bill.

           EMPLOYEE
           We don't have anyone here registered by that name.

          

          
          Judit gestures that she doesn't understand.

          

          

           JUDIT
           It's the man who had the accident. He was in bungalow
           number two.

          

          

          

          

           EMPLOYEE
           Oh, you mean Harry Caine.

           JUDIT
           Yes, of course.

           EMPLOYEE
           Poor souls! They are not the first to have an
           accident on that traffic circle! Awful!

          

          

          

          

          137. FAMARA. ROUTE TO THE BEACH. NEXT TO THE BUNGALOWS. EXT.


          DAY. 1994.

          

          
          Mateo and little Diego walk only a few meters past bungalow number
          two, where he lived with Magdalena. At that moment they are walking
          facing the wind, a fierce wind that threatens to tear off their
          clothes. It is as if nature itself wanted to keep Mateo from walking
          away from the bungalow where he loved Lena. From this point on, his
          life will become just that, an endless battle against the elements and
          against the memory of Lena.

          

          

           160

          
          Little Diego's voice distracts him.

          

          

           DIEGUITO
           Look... There are kites!

          

          
          At times little Diego forgets that Mateo cannot see. So he points
          toward the sky of a nearby beach, whose surface is dotted by various
          kites.

          

          
          Mateo is grateful for the life-affirming sound of the boy's voice and
          so he allows himself to be towed.
          The wind's violent sweep over all the different elements that compose
          the landscape creates a symphony of strange sounds.

          

          

          

          
          138. BUNGALOW No.2. FAMARA. INT. AND EXT. DAY. 1994.

          

          
          Judit, using the key she was handed at the Reception Desk, opens the
          door to bungalow number two. She enters into what had been Mateo and
          Lena's love nest. She takes the entire space in with one glance; she
          is overtaken, as if she has entered an ancestral and sacred space.
          She imagines Mateo and Lena filling up the space with their presence.
          (A strange modesty comes over her, but her curiosity is greater).
          Lena's spirit (at least in Judit's mind) hangs in the air, but in the
          material surrounding her absence is absolute. Those who took her body
          did not leave any trace of Lena. Not a single object, not a single
          dress. Nothing. Ernesto Senior's cohorts (or Ernesto himself) took
          all of her things.

          

          
          Mateo's clothes and things are found piled up in a closet. Yet the
          table where he sat to write remains intact. On it, the photograph of

          

          

           161

          
          the embrace on Golfo Beach still rests, along with his notebook, blank
          pages and some envelopes.
          Judit observes the photograph on Golfo Beach as if it were alive,
          still palpitating. And she imagines that the two lovers, locked in an
          embrace, lost in the anonymous vastness of the black sand, are Mateo
          and Lena.

          

          
          She opens the desk's drawer and, much to her surprise, finds it
          overflowing with torn photographs of Mateo and Lena, shuffled in no
          particular order (one might say they had been thrown violently into
          the drawer. The violence of the hand that ripped and threw them has
          left its pulsating mark).
          Judit picks up all the pieces, slowly and delicately, and she places
          them inside a brown envelope that she finds next to Mateo's notebook.
          Her sense of guilt is so profound that it dries out her throat and the
          expression on her face.

          

          

          

          

          139. FAMARA BEACH. EXT. DAY. 1994.


          

          
          At the base of the complex, on one end of the beach, the car that
          brought them is waiting. Judit places the bags with Mateo's
          belongings, which she has just carried from the bungalow, inside the
          trunk. She raises her head, emotionally exhausted. From where she
          stands she can see little Diego, ecstatic, in front of a group of
          surfers wearing brilliant colors traversing the waves and a group of
          kites (around eight or ten) darting through the sky like flying fish.
          Mateo is motionless, in front of the sea, soaking up its strength.

          

          
          Judit's pain is at odds with the boy's joy and the overwhelming
          vitality that the place exudes at that very moment.

          

          

           162

          
          She begins to walk toward Mateo and little Diego. Once she is a few
          meters away, she observes a surfer riding a wave. In the foreground
          of her line of sight stands Mateo, out of focus. As he comes into
          focus, Judit yells out to him:

          

          

           JUDIT
           Harry! Harry Caine!

          

          
          It seems as though she is invoking the wind (a hurricane) which moves
          the waves along with the expert surfers riding them.
          When he hears Judit's voice, Mateo turns to face in her direction and

          RESPONDS:

          

          

           HARRY
           We're here, Judit! (And raises his hand like a child)

          

          
          Judit approaches them, petrified with emotion. The wind tears tears
          from her eyes.

          

          

           JUDIT
           We have to go, Harry.

           HARRY
           (To the boy) Let's go, Dieguito. Give me your hand.

           DIEGUITO
           (Protests, politely) Can't we stay a little longer?

           HARRY
           No. We must obey your mother... You've had enough wind
           for one day...

           DIEGUITO
           But I'm already all better!

          

          

          

          

           163

          
          Judit walks in front of the blind man and the boy, her eyes glitter.
          Mateo has responded to her call, and that has filled her with
          uncontrollable emotion. At this very moment she decides that she will
          dedicate her life exclusively to the care of this man. This is how it
          will be.

          

          

          

          

          140. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. 2008.


          

          
          Diego is still sitting on the floor, next to the brown envelope. He
          sticks on the Braille title, "Famara. Lanzarote 94." In front of him,
          spread on the floor like a puzzle, lie the pieces of various embraces
          between Mateo and Lena (like archeological finds, like the Minoan
          paintings in Crete). The pieces begin to join with one another, an
          order is established and, soon, the better part of the picture is
          clear. There are four photographs where, regardless of the missing
          pieces, one can make out the image. Two are of embraces and the rest
          are of domestic scenes. The scratches on the four photographs reveal
          the passing of time.
          Neither of the two men speak. Mateo remains seated at his desk.
          Pensive.
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          141. HARRY'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. 2008.


          

          
          They prepare to watch/hear a DVD. Diego goes over Harry's collection
          (even though one would imagine he knows it). On the spines, the
          titles are written in Braille. He has already asked him what he would

          

          

           164

          
          like to watch (he reads off some titles; in general, all the movies
          are made prior to '94, all classics).

          

          

           HARRY
           Play "Elevator to the Gallows" and take a look at the
           ending...

          

          
          While he looks for it...

          

          

           DIEGO
           Do you always watch the same movies?

           HARRY
           Yes. Since I know them by heart, I can visualize the
           action.

           DIEGO
           Is there any new movie you'd want to see...?

           HARRY
           Yes. But you'd have to describe the action. Your
           mother used to describe some to me, some time ago.

           DIEGO
           I wouldn't mind doing so.

           HARRY
           I would like to "watch" one by Tarantino or Scorsese,
           and also some Asian cinema...

           DIEGO
           Done.

          

          
          They pick a movie (chosen by Mateo). Diego hooks up the television,
          then inserts the DVD.

          

          

          142. CONTINUED

          

          

           165

          
          Images of Mateo Blanco's last film, "Girls and Suitcases," appear on a
          random television station, it is the beginning of one of the sequences
          of which the spectator is already aware.
          For Harry it is all a shock, there is not doubt that it is his film.
          It is the sequence where Magdalena, wearing a cast, opens the door for
          her friend Chon.

          

          

          

          

          143. WHAT WE SEE ON THE TELEVISION SCREEN. A SCENE FROM "GIRLS

          AND SUITCASES." PINA'S LOFT. INT. 2008.


          

          
          Pina limps toward the door. Through the peephole she sees her friend
          Chon, looking back with an exaggerated look of reproach:

          

          

           PINA
           What a drag! (she opens, not very welcoming) Oh, it's
           you?

          

          

          

          

          RETURN TO 142. IN HARRY'S LIVING ROOM. 2008.

          

          
          In front of the television, having heard only those two phrases, Harry
          jumps up as if propelled by springs.

          

          

           HARRY
           That's "Girls and Suitcases"!

          

          
          Diego observes him and then looks at the television.

          

          

           DIEGO

          

          

           166

          
           Yes.

           HARRY
           Turn up the volume!

          

          
          Sitting on the floor, next to the television, Diego turns up the
          volume.
          Harry focuses on the sounds from the screen and Diego on everything
          else.

          

          

          

          

          144. ON THE TELEVISION. 2008.

          

          
          Chon enters. (They are supposed to be good friends). Chon has an
          endearing appearance, she is a little chubby, well dressed, according
          to her age (forty) and her profession, a Counselor for Social Affairs.
          Spontaneous and direct (she is kind of a Bette Midler in her forties),
          but the actress is lacking grace and her restlessness reveals more
          about her fear of running into the moving camera, than about the very
          funny way that the character inhabits her own anxiety. Lena is also
          quite languid, lacking spark, tired and unenthusiastic. (As a comedy,
          it's without charm and, as a drama, it's uninteresting, that's what
          the critics said).

          

          

           CHON
           (Reproachful) I've left you a thousand messages.

           PINA
           Yes. A thousand from you, and none from Ivan.

          

          
          As if Ivan's phone call depended on Chon.

          

          

          

          

           167

          

          145. LIVINGROOM, HARRY'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. 2008.


          

          
          Harry twitches around in his chair, anxious and impatient. He doesn't
          like what he hears.

          

          

          

          

          146. ON THE TELEVISION. 2008.

          

          

           CHON
           (Sees the suitcase sitting in the middle of the loft.
           Looks at it as if it were some strange insect.) And
           this suitcase?

           PINA
           It's Ivan's. He's leaving me.

           CHON
           And the cast on your leg?

           PINA
           His ex-wife, the crazy one. She pushed me down the
           stairs and I broke my leg...

          

          
          All said without any spark. The actresses are reciting the text
          mechanically and they appear tired of interpreting it.

          

          

           CHON
           Wow! Well, we're in good shape... I also broke up with
           my husband...

          

          

          

          

          147. LIVINGROOM, HARRY'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. 2008


          

          

          

          

           168

          
          Diego and Harry are still staring at the television. Harry with his
          ear turned toward the screen, disappointed and tense. Diego is more
          indulgent of the scene.

          

          

           HARRY
           (Annoyed) They're terrible!

          

          
          Each of the men focus their respective senses on the television
          screen.

          

          

           HARRY
           How could I have thought these takes were the good
           ones! What was I thinking!

          

          
          With the same fury with which he had thrown down the newspaper with
          the bad review of his film onto the sand, he abruptly shuts off the
          television monitor.
          He remains suspended for a few moments, as if trying to find an
          explanation for what he has just heard. Was he so caught up in
          Magdalena's problems that he was unable to distinguish when a take was
          good or bad?

          

          
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          148. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. 2008.


          

          
          The next morning, Harry wakes up early. He has spent an entire night
          thinking about the same thing. Dressed in a bathrobe, but not
          showered yet, he walks over to his desk.

          

          

          

          

           169

          
          All these scenes take place in the dark. A faint light from the
          breaking dawn enters through the corners of the drapes that cover the
          windows.
          He opens the drawer with the photographs. (When Diego had opened it
          before, we had been able to see that along with the photographs there
          were other objects, for example, Luis' notebook (the editor). Diego
          had not mentioned any of this to Harry). Harry pokes around in the
          drawer with his hands, finds the notebook.
          He grabs it. He opens it on top of his desk. He touches the
          different pages. The tips of his finger tips run over the numbers
          corresponding to the sequences, the shots, the selected takes,
          attempting to find a message.

          

          

          

          

          149. DIEGO'S ROOM. INT. DAY. 2008.


          

          
          Harry walks over to Diego's room with the notebook in hand. The boy
          is naked, drying himself with a towel after his shower.
          Harry asks permission to enter.

          

          

           HARRY
           May I come in?

           DIEGO
           (Drying himself) Yes, come in!

          

          
          Not giving him time to get dressed, Harry hands him the notebook.

          

          

           HARRY
           Luis, the editor, sent it to me six years ago. At
           that time I didn't even bother to open it, I didn't
           want to know anything about him. I am now thinking

          

          

           170

          
           that perhaps he had something to tell me. Would you
           mind seeing if beyond the takes and all of that there
           is something else written?

          

          
          Diego looks through it carefully. The last pages are empty. The rest
          only have the numbers pertaining to the sequences, the shots, and the
          selected takes, like we have seen in the sequence with the Moviola.
          Although, there is something written on the last page. "My new
          number: 91 6994079."

          

          

           DIEGO
           At the end he says this is my new number, a number's
           written down.

          

          
          Harry hands him his mobile phone.

          

          

           HARRY
           Call him, please!

           DIEGO
           Right now? It's too early.

           HARRY
           It doesn't matter.

          

          
          Diego dials the number and hands the phone to Harry.

          

          

           DIEGO
           May I get dressed? I'm naked...

           HARRY
           Oh, I'm sorry.

          

          
          He turns around and leaves.

          

          

           171

          

          150. HARRY'S HOME. DEN. INT. DAY. 2008.


          

          
          He exits the bedroom and heads for his dark den.

          

          

           HARRY
           (On the phone) Could I speak to Luis, please?

           WOMAN'S VOICE
           (Surprised) Luis died six years ago!

           HARRY
           Oh, I am so sorry... I had no idea!

           VOICE
           It was cancer. I'm his widow. Who are you?

           HARRY
           Mateo Blanco. Luis edited all my films...

           VOICE
           (More serene) Mateo Blanco! Luis spoke to me about
           you. I am his second wife...

           HARRY
           The one I know is Nieves, the first one.

           VOICE
           We married twelve years ago.

           HARRY
           (Sincere and sorrowful) I am sorry to hear about Luis'
           death. I would have liked to speak to him...

           VOICE
           He would have liked so too! Once he was quite ill and
           didn't want to speak to anyone, he would always tell
           me that, if it was you, I should hand him the phone...

          

          
          Harry keeps silent.

          

          

           172

          

           HARRY
           You have no idea how sorry I am!

          

          
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          151. LIVING ROOM, HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. 2008.


          

          
          Diego is in the kitchen. He is preparing breakfast, both for himself
          and Mateo.
          Harry, heavy-hearted, approaches the kitchen, pensive. A half-hearted
          "happy birthday" escapes Diego's lips. Harry doesn't react, perhaps
          he hasn't heard him. Noticing the look on his face Diego is not eager
          to insist.

          

          

           DIEGO
           What's going on?

           HARRY
           My editor. I just found out he died six years ago...

          

          
          Diego remains silent and lets Harry continue talking.

          

          

           HARRY
           Not long before he died he sent me this notebook. But
           I didn't want to know anything about him, I also
           didn't know he was dying... and I put it away... until
           today... His wife just told me he would have liked to
           speak to me, that was the purpose of sending me the
           notebook... but I didn't give him the chance.

           DIEGO
           Had you spoken since the accident?

           173

          

           HARRY
           No. Never.

          

          
          Diego places plates with toast and juice on the table. He serves
          Harry some coffee and adds sugar.

          

          

           DIEGO
           The coffee is in front of you...

          

          
          Harry finds the cup easily.

          

          

           DIEGO
           Are you OK? Would you like me to stay here?

           HARRY
           No, no... You're heading out?

           DIEGO
           My mother arrives today. I would like to be home when
           she arrives.

           HARRY
           I didn't know she was arriving...

           DIEGO
           I didn't either, she left me a message this morning.
           She's coming to celebrate your birthday, with us...

           HARRY
           It's my birthday?

           DIEGO
           It seems so. Today's the (he tells him the day), does
           that sound right?

           HARRY
           Yes. A day like today, fifty-one years ago, I entered the
           world.

           DIEGO

           174

          
           Happy birthday!

          

          

          

          

          152. JUDIT AND DIEGO'S HOME. INT. DAY. 2008.


          

          
          Judit returns from location scouting. She enters her house. She hugs
          her son, effusively.

          

          
          She drops a large suitcase, with wheels. (The sequence takes place in
          various rooms in the house. From the foyer she should move toward the
          bedroom or the kitchen, where she makes herself some tea, or where she
          opens bags full of food that she's brought, typical to the region
          she's just visited. (She looks inside the refrigerator and doesn't
          find anything). Things like that.

          

          

           JUDIT
           I was dying to see you! Are you OK, my son?

           DIEGO
           Yes.

           JUDIT
           I was very worried about you!

           DIEGO
           Mateo has looked after me day and night...

           JUDIT
           Mateo? You're not calling him Harry...?

          

          
          Diego had not realized.

          

          

           DIEGO
           Yes...

           JUDIT

          

          

           175

          
           Today's his birthday, we must get him something... What
           have you been up to all this time?

           DIEGO
           Nothing... Watching movies... and talking...

           JUDIT
           (As if it were something strange) Talking?

           DIEGO
           Yes...

           JUDIT
           What about?

           DIEGO
           Mom, please!

          

          
          Judit looks at her son. She finds him different. As if all the
          confidences shared with Harry had left a physical and visible mark on
          him. Diego seems to guess what his mother is thinking.

          

          

           JUDIT
           OK. So what happened to you? (Sort of joking) I
           don't know if I should believe the thing about the
           stomach flu, you two used that as an excuse in a
           script...

           DIEGO
           (Elusive) (I suffered) ... an accident. But I would
           rather not speak of that right now...

           JUDIT
           (Irritated, by the surprise) What kind of accident?

           DIEGO
           It's hard to explain.

           JUDIT
           (Orders him, annoyed) Try to! I am not that stupid!

           DIEGO

           176

          
           Let's leave it for another time, yes? I am all well now.

          

          
          Judit gets the sense that she can no longer speak to her son in the
          same way that she could before she left on her trip. Those two weeks
          have irreversibly changed him.

          

          

           JUDIT
           What's wrong with you, Diego?

           DIEGO
           Nothing. I'm doing just fine. I'm going to buy a
           present for Mateo.

           JUDIT
           (Repeats) For Mateo...

           DIEGO
           Alright, Harry.

          

          
          (Offended, she doesn't want her son to think she is a drag, so she
          makes an effort not to bombard him with questions)

          

          

           JUDIT
           Call him however you wish. That's the advantage of
           having two names.

          

          
          Diego disappears and leaves her in mid-sentence.
          (Is this his way of avenging himself? Perhaps his reaction is unfair,
          but he cannot stand to stay there with his mother, answering thousands
          of questions regarding an "accident" when there has been another
          "accident" that he is much more intrigued by and that she has kept
          silent for fourteen years.)

          

          

          

          

          153. MATEO-HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. 2008.


           177

          
          (The maid may be around)

          

          
          Mateo goes to open the door. Judit has the key in one hand and a huge
          flower bouquet in the other. They greet each other enthusiastically.
          Mateo-Harry attempts to hug her but his arms collide with the flowers.

          

          

           JUDIT
           Wait, my arms are full...

           MATEO
           Are those flowers?

           JUDIT
           Yes! Happy Birthday!

          

          
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          154. MATEO-HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. 2008.


          

          
          Mateo and Judit talk, they are sitting on a sofa, the conversation is
          already mid-way.

          

          

           JUDIT
           Thank you for looking after Diego... I don't know how to thank
           you!

           MATEO
           You've been looking after me for fourteen years now...

          

          
          Judit brushes his acknowledgement off, with a half-smile.

          

          

           JUDIT

          

          

           178

          
           I've found him somewhat hostile. He left without
           telling me what it was that happened... Will you tell
           me?

           MATEO
           I don't know. It should be your son to tell you.

          

          
          Judit is upset by both of their evasiveness.

          

          

           JUDIT
           What is wrong with the two of you? Why is it that he
           suddenly is not calling you Harry but Mateo?

           MATEO
           (He evades the first question, but responds to the
           second one.) Two weeks ago, at the place where he
           D.J.'s, by mistake, he grabbed a friend's drink that
           had been spiked with G.H.B., liquid ecstasy. He
           thought it was his drink, both drinks had Coca-cola.

           JUDIT
           Liquid ecstasy?

           MATEO
           Yes. It's a very dangerous drug when it's mixed with
           alcohol and Diego had already had two Cuba Libres
           before he drank from his friend's glass...

           JUDIT
           And... what happened... exactly?

           MATEO
           (Being vague.) He was badly affected. He spent two
           days in urgent care, after that, I brought him here.

          

          
          Judit looks at him, horrified. She can't seem to comprehend such a
          turbulent and simple story.

          

          

           179

          

           JUDIT
           Diego's a drug addict?

           MATEO
           No. I've told you, he drank from the glass containing
           liquid ecstasy by mistake...

           JUDIT
           But how can one make a mistake with something like
           that?

           MATEO
           At first glace one cannot tell the difference. Both
           glasses contained Coca-cola... It's not the first time
           it happens...

          

          
          Judit sighs, defenseless and horrified.

          

          

           MATEO
           Diego has not told you so that you wouldn't be alarmed...

           JUDIT
           (That I wouldn't be alarmed?!) Well, he hasn't
           succeeded. At some point he will have to speak to me,
           no?

           MATEO
           He is wanting to do so!

          

          
          Judit takes a cigarette out of its box and lights it.

          

          

           JUDIT
           Is that so? Because I ask him and he doesn't answer!

           MATEO
           Then you should try answering him, when he asks you.

          

          

          

          

           180

          
          Judit smokes in silence, she is curious to know what Mateo and Diego
          have been talking about in her absence, but she doesn't dare ask
          Mateo.

          

          

           JUDIT
           The two of you are acting very differently. Both of
           you. You both have changed.

          

          
          She laments it, as if she had been put aside and they had not taken
          her into account.

          

          
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          155. "NO VIEWS" RESTAURANT. INT. NIGHT. 2008.


          

          

          AT THE BAR BEFORE ONE ENTERS THE RESTAURANT.
          Judit and Mateo are having something to drink. Mateo tilts his head
          subtly in front of Judit.

          

          

           MATEO
           You smell good...

           JUDIT
           (Insecure) I have put on some makeup and I am dressed
           as a woman.

           MATEO
           What's the dress like?

          

          
          Judit describes it, with few words and almost shyly.

          

          

           MATEO

          

          

           181

          
           And the hair? How are you wearing your hair? It's
           been so long since I've asked you that I don't even
           know whether it's long or short.

          

          
          The fact that Mateo betrays that type of interest flatters and
          disconcerts her.

          

          

           JUDIT
           I haven't changed much, Harry. I am wearing my hair short.

           MATEO
           Short like Jean Seberg in "Breathless"? Like Joan of
           Arc on the bonfire? Like Liza Minnelli in "Cabaret"?
           Or like Yul Brynner?

           JUDIT
           Short, or rather, very short, like that of all
           fortysomethings who want to appear younger.

           MATEO
           I am sure it looks good on you. Thanks for dressing up
           for me, Judit...

          

          
          Diego looks at them, amused. He hands Mateo three DVDs (Scorsese's
          "Goodfellas" (or the Coen Brother's "Fargo"), Tarantino's "Kill Bill,"
          and Kiarostami's "Taste of Cherry").
          Near them, on the bar table, two couples talk excitedly as if they
          were about to go on a ride at an Amusement Park.

          

          
          The barman tells them they may now enter.

          

          

          

          

          156. "NO VIEWS" RESTAURANT. INT. NIGHT. 2008.


          

          

          

          

           182

          
          Once they've crossed the doorway, a man signals them to follow him.
          He's a blind man that, like Mateo, moves smoothly, he knows the place
          by heart.
          The restaurant is completely shrouded in darkness, all the waiters,
          men and women, are blind. The one in charge of Mateo, Diego, and
          Judit introduces himself:

          

          

           JAVIER
           My name is Javier. How many are you?

           MATEO
           Three.

          

          
          There is not a single light inside. The following sequences take
          place in absolute darkness.

          

          

           JAVIER
           Please, grab onto each other's shoulders and follow me
           in Indian-file. I will guide you to your table. It's
           number eight.

           JUDIT
           What is the idea here, Harry?

           MATEO
           We are dinning in darkness.

           JAVIER
           You didn't know this, ma'am?

           JUDIT
           (Anxious, feeling slightly ridiculed) No...

           JAVIER
           You should have been warned, but don't worry. People
           get used to it after a few minutes.

          

          

          

          

           183

          

          157. "NO VIEWS" RESTAURANT. INT. NIGHT. 2008.


          

          
          They have arrived to their table, as signaled by the waiter. Table
          number eight. He tells them where to sit.

          

          

           JAVIER
           Imagine that your plate is the face of a watch. Your
           silverware is at 9h and at 3h. Your glass at 1h.
           Bread at 11h.

          

          
          Each of them reaches for the objects as indicated by the waiter around
          an imaginary clock.

          

          
          Judit still believes this is some kind of joke and that the lights
          will come on at any moment and that something spectacular will appear
          before her eyes.
          If she had been able to see, she would have been witness to the very
          interesting scenes surrounding her. Two couples kissing, with bestial
          enjoyment. And a well-bred woman performing fellatio on the man
          sitting next to her. No one sees them except our camera.

          

          

           JUDIT
           Harry, what is all this about?

          

          
          The waiter responds.

          

          

           JAVIER
           We want our clients to discover that the lack of sight
           harnesses the other senses. Touch, taste, smell and
           sound will acquire a special intensity tonight, ma'am.
           I hope you'll enjoy them.

          

          

           184

          
          Judit says nothing. She hides her nervousness in order not to ruin
          Mateo's night, he seems fascinated with the place and completely
          unaware of the process she is now living: the discovery of absolute
          darkness. A bottomless pit.

          

          

           JAVIER
           Will the gentlemen be drinking something?

           MATEO
           Bring us a bottle of wine, to toast.

          

          
          The waiter leaves them.
          Slowly, Judit begins to walk the plank that will plunge her into
          anxiety. The evening feels far from a party, but she doesn't want to
          spoil it for either Mateo or Diego. She hears Mateo explaining to

          HIM:

          

          

           MATEO
           I found out about this place in the newspaper and I
           wanted to check it out.

           DIEGO
           It's a German idea, there are various restaurant like
           this one, they're totally in fashion.

           JUDIT
           (Can't believe what she's hearing.) Darkness, in
           fashion? I don't understand.

          

          
          Silence. Judit pours herself some water and drinks. And she gets
          depressed, in silence.
          She lights a cigarette.

          

          

          

          

           185

          

          158. "NO VIEWS" RESTAURANT. AT THE TABLE. INT. NIGHT. 2008.


          

          
          Javier, the waiter, arrives with the wine. He tells Judit she can't
          smoke. She puts out the cigarette. (On the floor?)
          To enliven the occasion, Diego proposes a toast.

          

          

           DIEGO
           Let's toast!

           JUDIT
           Yes. Let's toast.

          

          
          Mateo pours the glasses. They each grab one. Clumsily, they bring
          them close until they can her the sound of the crystal clinking.

          

          

           DIEGO
           Happy Birthday!

           JUDIT
           Happy Birthday! We must look into each other's eyes.
           (She has already said it and it's too late when she
           thinks of retracting it.)

           DIEGO
           Well, we're kind of screwed...

           JUDIT
           Oh, sorry... It slipped.

          

          
          They attempt to clink glasses. It is not such an easy task. The
          three glasses head for each other in the darkness, it would have been
          easiest to have all three meet at the center, but instead each opts to
          find the other. Only Mateo puts his forward and leaves it in place,
          waiting for the other two to find his. When this happens, Judit's
          glass collides with too much force, breaks his glass and wine spills

          

          

           186

          
          all over the table cloth. Mateo attempts to make light of the
          situation, as if nothing had happened. He presses his fingers into
          the wine that has spilled on the tablecloth and exclaims:

          

          

           MATEO
           Joy! Joy! (to Judit) Bring your ear to me so that I
           can sprinkle some wine behind it. It's for good luck!

          

          
          Judit attempts to heed his request, she leans forward, offering her
          head, parallel to the table. Mateo can't quite find her ear. Judit
          collapses. Her head topples onto the table, without strength, and she
          bursts into tears.
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          159. "THE MIRROR" TERRACE. INT. EXT. NIGHT. 2008.


          

          
          Show both terraces, the exterior one and the glass-enclosed one. The
          sequence begins once all three of them (Judit, Diego and Harry) are
          seated and drinking. Judit's emotional state has not improved. The
          short sequence of events that she's had to live through since her
          arrival have been making her increasingly tense and worried. She is
          trying to combat the letdown by way of gin-and-tonic.

          

          
          (They are sitting on one extreme of the ellipsis that makes up the
          glass-enclosed terrace, decorated with cheesy Decó motifs).
          At the center, where the bar is located, two or three waiters prepare
          to clean up the tables. Once in a while, they look over at the only
          three remaining clients. Once in a while, they are also able to catch
          Judit's words. And once in a while, the waiters function as the

          

          

          

          

           187

          
          audience, witnessing a theatrical production. Although on this
          occasion, the setting is real and so is the drama.
          Judit sips-down the gin-and-tonic quite rapidly. Mateo and Diego
          accompany her.

          

          
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          160. CONTINUED. MIRROR TERRACE. INT. NIGHT.


          

          

           JUDIT
           I don't know what you've been talking about these past
           days...

          

          
          A topic which they have waited to broach since she arrived from her
          trip.
          Neither of the two men respond, but they are both made uncomfortable
          by the comment.

          

          

           JUDIT
           But I do know what I haven't talked to you about all
           these years...

          

          
          Mateo directs his face toward her, surprised and polite.

          

          

           MATEO
           I've never asked you...

           JUDIT
           But you must have asked yourself a thousand times.
           This is my birthday gift, Mateo. (To Diego) The gift
           is also for you, Diego.

          

          

           188

          
          She takes another sip to draw courage, but she's already gathered
          enough momentum:

          

          

           JUDIT
           (To Mateo) After you disappeared, Ernesto Senior
           thought only of his revenge. A plan had occurred to
           him but, to carry it out, he had to bribe, at the very
           least, both Luis and me. It wasn't an issue, we both
           sold ourselves without hesitation. Luis and I. With
           me, he had the courtesy to provide an alibi, he
           proposed that I leave for a month and a half to the
           United States, to the Mayo Clinic, so that Diego could
           undergo a cure for his aspergillosis, that way I
           wouldn't have to be present while he destroyed the
           movie (because that was his plan, to make a mess out
           of the film). I opted to stay in Madrid and have
           Diego undergo his cure here. I wanted to witness
           everything. If I was going to betray you, I wanted to
           pay the full price...

           MATEO
           What a living hell! For both of you!

           DIEGO
           You said it!

          

          
          She takes a deep breath and continues:

          

          

           JUDIT
           Yes. It was torture to watch Ernesto select the worst
           takes of each shot and Luis edit them together, turning
           your film into a monster (briefly tears?). The only
           way of withstanding that was to suffer more.

           189

          
           (Overcome) I sold myself to Ernesto because of my pain
           and jealousy. I couldn't take it and I couldn't (then)
           forgive you for having abandoned Cinearte with Lena
           without saying a word! My betrayal was my revenge
           against you, against her and against myself... The only
           innocent one was Diego... (To Diego) Forgive me, my
           son, for the bitterness that you've had to absorb all
           these years... no one deserves to grow up like this...

          

          

          

          

          161. CONTINUED. MIRROR TERRACE. INT. NIGHT.


          

          
          Judit rises. She approaches the bar table. She orders another gin-
          and-tonic. The waiter doesn't dare to tell her they've already
          closed, so he serves her.
          With the glass in her hand, Judit returns to the table where Mateo and
          Diego wait, expectantly.
          She has observed them whispering, but she hasn't heard what they have
          said. She sits down with them.
          Judit takes a sip.

          

          

           MATEO
           (Interrupts her) Don't continue, Judit! It's not necessary.

           JUDIT
           Yes. Now that you once again call yourself Mateo, I
           have no excuse.

          

          
          Judit takes a sip from her drink, to gather her strength.

          

          

           JUDIT

          

          

          

          

           190

          
           No one knew where you were. We had no idea. Ernesto
           Senior put everything together, the premier, all that
           ruckus, to see if you'd react. His revenge was
           pointless if neither of you found out about it.
           (Pauses) Ernesto asked me constantly if I knew where
           you were, but I said that I also didn't know anything,
           which was true.

           MATEO
           (Somber) That's why I never called you, but even if
           you don't believe it, I was very worried for you and
           the boy.

           JUDIT
           I believe you...

          

          
          Diego attempts to say that he, too, believes him, but Judit doesn't
          give him time.

          

          

           JUDIT
           Ernesto hired various detectives to search for you, but
           before they found you, you called me, two days after
           the premier. (Slowly, debilitated.) I was too
           embarrassed to answer, and... too stunned. I still am.
           When Ernesto Senior asked me again about you, I don't
           know why, I gave him the phone number for Famara...

          

          
          Mateo and Diego listen to her, with renewed attention. This new
          information reveals an unexpected possibility, something that neither
          of the two men had considered. Their reaction toward Judit's painful
          declaration changes in character. In Mateo's case, his compassion
          vanishes and is replaced by doubt, now incited by new suspicions.

          

          

           JUDIT

           191

          
           Ernesto sent his son to find you in Lanzarote.

          

          
          (Images of Ernesto Junior, inside a rented car, following the couple
          across various places on the island, including the highway that leads
          to Famara, on that last night.)

          

          

           JUDIT
           He was the one who found you after the accident and
           called the hospital...

           DIEGO
           Did he have something to do with the accident?

           JUDIT
           No! But I can't stop thinking that had I not given his
           father the phone number, perhaps nothing would have
           happened...

           MATEO
           (Dryly) Why do you think that?

           JUDIT
           I don't know...

           MATEO
           (Categorically) If you don't know, then stop torturing
           yourself.

          

          
          He says this with spite and somewhat disparagingly. For Judit it's
          like a splash of cold water to the face.

          

          
          The confession, rather than ending as a liberating catharsis, has
          devolved in its opposite. The silence is weighed down by suspicion
          and the new abyss between Mateo and Judit.
          Never before has Judit felt Mateo this distant and antagonistic. Her
          dramatic confession, far from liberating her, has opened new wounds

          

          

           192

          
          and generated new suspicions. And Judit feels taken over by an arid
          anxiety, corrosive, unbearable. She almost can't breathe.
          Cut to.

          

          

          

          

          162. CASTELLANA STREET. EXT. NIGHT. 2008.


          

          
          Judit, Mateo and Diego are inside Judit's car. Diego is driving. The
          three are tense and silent.

          

          

          

          

          163. MATEO'S BUILDING. EXT. INT. NIGHT. 2008.


          

          
          In silence, they arrive at the entrance of the building where Mateo
          lives. (Mateo is possibly carrying his umbrella or a blind man's
          cane). He exits the car. Judit walks him to the front door. She is
          glad that Mateo can't see her look of embarrassment.

          

          

           MATEO
           Good night.

           JUDIT
           (Destroyed) Good night. Call me if you need anything...

          

          
          Mateo doesn't respond. When the entrance door shuts like a resounding
          "no."
          Judit waits until she sees him disappear into the elevator.

          

          

          

          

          164. MATEO'S DOORWAY. EXT. NIGHT. 2008.


          

          

          

          

           193

          
          From Judit's point of view, Mateo disappears into the elevator, which
          soon begins to rise.

          

          

          

          

          165. STREET. IN FRONT OF THE ENTRANCE TO MATEO'S BUILDING.

          EXT. NIGHT. 2008.


          

          
          Undone, and she no longer pretends otherwise, Judit returns to the
          car.
          Before she opens the door she bends over and retches violently.
          Diego gets out of the car and holds her by the waist. He attempts to
          help her.
          Judit's face is contorted. She wipes a thread of saliva still hanging
          from her lips. Despite the retching, she has not vomited anything
          other than liquid.

          

          

           DIEGO
           (Touching her forehead) You are sweating...

           JUDIT
           It's a panic attack... (Takes a deep breath, as if she
           had lost her wind) Hand me the purse!

          

          
          Diego finds the purse in the car and hands it to her immediately.
          Judit searches through the purse, impatiently. She takes the purse
          and drops all of its contents on the sidewalk. She find a box of
          tranquilizers. The pill she presses through the aluminum seal comes
          out with a pop; she places it on her tongue. She leans over the car.
          Diego looks at her, scared, he has never seen her like this.
          Articulating poorly, so as to not move her tongue, Judit say to him:

          

          

           JUDIT

          

          

           194

          
           This will pass soon...

          

          

          

          

          166. JUDIT'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. 2008.


          

          
          Diego hands her a glass of water. Once in bed, Judit takes two
          sleeping pills. She has overcome the crisis.
          Diego looks at her, very concerned. His mother has never shown
          herself to be so physically fragile. He wants to help her, but it
          doesn't seem like there is anything more he can do than what he
          already has.
          Judit attempts to smile in order to calm him.

          

          

           JUDIT
           I will sleep well with this...

           DIEGO
           Do you want me to stay here?

           JUDIT
           (Surprised) Here? What for?

           DIEGO
           In case the panic returns, so that you don't feel alone.

          

          
          Judit eyes swell with tears.

          

          

           JUDIT
           Thank you. I am feeling better... and I'll fall asleep
           soon.

           DIEGO
           Call me, if you are not feeling well...

          

          

          

          

           195

          
          He kisses her twice and exits. The curtains that cover a large window
          that looks out into an interior terrace are made from the same
          material as those that Mateo has in his bedroom.

          

          

          

          

          168. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAWN. 2008.


          

          
          The next day.
          Standing over his desk, Mateo searches the desk drawer under the
          computer. It's open. There are not many things inside (credit cards,
          envelopes with money, a jump drive, the MP3, etc.), he goes through it
          meticulously until he finds the note that Ray X had left him the day
          he came to ask him if they could write a script together. Ray X has
          hand-written his own telephone number on the note. He goes over it
          with his fingertips, as if he could see through them.

          

          
          He dials a familiar number, Diego's.

          

          

          

          

          169. JUDIT'S HOME. DIEGO'S BEDROOM. INT. DAWN. 2008.


          

          
          Diego's mobile phone vibrates four or five times. But Diego is
          sleeping and he doesn't wake up. The mobile phone stops vibrating.
          In all the scenes where Mateo is alone at home, he never turns on the
          light. He will be in the dark, lightly illuminated by any light that
          the cracks in the windows let through.

          

          

          

          

          RETURN TO 168.

          

          

          

          

           196

          
          Mateo leaves him a message: "I am sorry to call you so early. Tell
          your mother to call me as soon as she can."

          

          

          

          

          170. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. 2008.


          

          
          As usual, Mateo buys his newspaper at the same news-agent. He turns
          his body toward the Modeling Agency, but no one there enters or exits
          whose odor or whose clacking heels rings familiar.
          There are a few people on the sidewalk and those he crosses are all
          heading, like zombies, to work.

          

          

          

          

          171. BAR ACROSS. 8 IN THE MORNING. EXT. INT. DAY. 2008.


          

          
          He enters the bar where his Waiter Friend works. The place has just
          opened. There are very few clients.
          He greets him.

          

          

           WAITER FRIEND
           Why here so early?

           MATEO
           I couldn't sleep. Would you mind dialing this number?

          

          
          He hands him the phone and the piece of paper where Ray X's number is
          written.

          

          

          

          

          172. KITCHEN, JUDIT'S HOME. INT. DAY. 2008.


          

          

          

          

           197

          
          Diego is meticulously preparing breakfast for himself and Judit. He
          works hard to ensure that they both start their day with the help of a
          generous and varied breakfast, toast, juice, coffee and tea,
          marmalade, toasted bread spread with oil and tomato, etc..
          Judit appears through one of the kitchen doors, calm, with a look of
          having rested (but also with the hangover of having survived a
          nightmarish day, the day before). Diego does not hear her approach.
          The mother takes advantage of this to observe her son with a tender
          smile. When Diego turns to look, the tenderness disappears a little,
          more out of modesty and a lack of habit. In any case, Judit enjoys
          the peacefulness of the moment: her son caring for her after the
          storm.
          Judit looks over the culinary display.

          

          

           JUDIT
           How impressive!

           DIEGO
           I am specializing in breakfasts. I would do the same
           for Mateo...

          

          
          Judit's expression changes, now a bit more somber.

          

          

           DIEGO
           Are you OK?

           JUDIT
           Yes, (still a bit beaten down) don't worry about last
           night. It's horrible, but it only happens occasionally
           and I know how to stop it...

           DIEGO
           It scared me, it seemed as though an alien would pop
           out of your stomach.

           JUDIT

           198

          
           It's not a bad way of describing a panic attack...
           (Changing the topic, one can tell she's made the
           decision before she arrived in the kitchen). Diego,
           there was one last thing I didn't tell you yesterday.

          

          
          Assuming it will be painful, he attempts to dissuade her:

          

          

           DIEGO
           About Mateo?

           JUDIT
           Yes.

           DIEGO
           You can tell me some other time. Now it's time for breakfast.

           JUDIT
           If I don't tell you now, I may never do so... At the end
           of the eighties, in `77, to be exact.

           DIEGO
           The year of punk.

           JUDIT
           Yes, in the year of punk, Mateo and I became involved...

           DIEGO
           In a love affair?

           JUDIT
           Yes... We were just getting started in film, and we are
           still at it, but our love affair ended, at least on his
           side... That didn't keep us from working together...
           until now...

           DIEGO
           I knew all that, or I imagined it...

           JUDIT
           There's one more thing... Mateo is your father...

          

          

           199

          
          Diego looks at her, astonished.

          

          

           DIEGO
           And that fleeting lover, my supposed biological
           father? You made him up?

           JUDIT
           No... I... can hide things... but I never make things up...
           I don't know how to make up... The fleeting lover
           existed, he was gay and our affair was short-lived.
           His name was Vicente and it was while I was with him
           that you were conceived, but your biological father
           was Mateo, not Vicente.

          

          
          Still thinking about what he has just heard, Diego places the
          breakfast on the main kitchen table and serves his mother a cup of
          tea. Judit begins to drink it, one tiny sip at a time.

          

          

           DIEGO
           (Assimilates the news. He is not displeased) Does
           Mateo know?

           JUDIT
           No. At that time, he asked me and I denied it, of
           course. I didn't want to put pressure on him, I
           didn't want our relationship to change because of it.
           After all, I had never asked him if he wanted to
           become a father.

          

          
          The pieces begin to fall together.

          

          

           DIEGO
           I see...

           JUDIT

           200

          
           If you think I made a mistake, don't tell me now. We
           have the rest of our lives for recriminations.

          

          
          Diego remains pensive for a moment.

          

          

           DIEGO
           I will not recriminate you... I think I like being
           Mateo's son (the son of a bitch) ... Speaking of, he
           called early this morning...

           JUDIT
           Who?

           DIEGO
           Mateo. At 8h.

          

          
          She looks at the clock and it's 11h.

          

          

           JUDIT
           What did he want?

           DIEGO
           For you to call him as soon as you could.

           JUDIT
           (Surprised, tense) That I call him? Why in the world
           have you not awakened me?!

           DIEGO
           Because, after what happened last night, you needed to
           sleep. He didn't say it was urgent. You can call him
           now.

          

          
          Judit grabs her son's phone, agitated once again, and dials Mateo's
          number.

          

          

          

          

           201

          

          173. ALTERNATING BETWEEN JUDIT'S HOME. INT. DAY. 2008.


          174. PUERTA DE HIERRO MANSION. ERNESTO JUNIOR'S STUDY. INT.


          DAY. 2008.

          

          
          In the beginning the shot is close up and so we are not aware of where
          he is. All one can see is a bit of a curtain, out of focus.

          

          
          Phone conversation.

          

          

           JUDIT
           (Attempts to appear calm, since her confession her
           voice has a less authoritarian edge and is weaker)
           Diego has told me to call you. Are you OK? Do you need
           anything? (This is what she's most worried about.)

           MATEO
           (Almost with irony) I am not alright, Judit. And yes,
           I do need something... The forty thousand meters of
           negative we shot during my last film in order to edit
           it... I am at the home of Ernesto Junior and I just
           found out the material was destroyed in '94. I
           imagined something like this, I just didn't think it
           would have happened that soon...

           JUDIT
           (With urgency) Let me explain...

           MATEO
           (Cuts her off) No. I am in a hideous mood, Judit,
           and I don't want to take it out on you!

           JUDIT
           (Surprised and alarmed) What are you doing at
           Ernesto's house?

          

          

          

          

           202

          
          The shot opens up, and we discover Ernesto Junior at the other end of
          the room, next to a 16mm camera (on a tripod) recording everything
          that Mateo says and does, while he searches around in some drawers.

          

          

           MATEO
           I think I am going to bribe him. We need money, I
           don't want Diego back at that damn bar. I want to pay
           Diego a salary, we need money and he has money to
           throw...

          

          

          

          

          175. PUERTA DE HIERRO MANSION. ERNESTO'S STUDY. INT. DAY. 2008.


          

          
          The studio has a different configuration than when his father lived,
          but we recognize the place nonetheless; when the father was alive the
          space served a different purpose.
          Ernesto looks at Mateo fearlessly, he is still determined to search,
          urgently, for something inside the drawers of a chest. The place is a
          pretty big mess.

          

          

           JUDIT
           Mateo, stop talking crazy!

           MATEO
           It is not craziness. I can't think of anyone else to
           blame for Magdalena's death.

           JUDIT
           My God! (She asks Diego to bring her the box of
           tranquilizers.) Wait a second... I have something to
           tell you.

           MATEO
           Let it be, you already said enough last night.

           JUDIT

           203

          
           (She takes a pill and yells at him) Listen to me,
           Mateo! (As she raises her voice, she becomes
           dominant.) I was the production director, if you want
           to know anything about the footage, ask me!

           MATEO
           Since you insist, I will ask you. What do you have to
           tell me?

           JUDIT
           In effect, Ernesto Senior asked for it to be
           destroyed.

           MATEO
           In '94! Very shortly after the release of that
           aberration.

           JUDIT
           Yes. In any case, sooner or later the lab disposes of
           all the material... and that was many years ago.

           MATEO
           That's not anything that I don't already know.

           JUDIT
           As the film's producer I was the only one who had
           access to the lab... to all the material. After I gave
           the order to have everything destroyed, I intercepted
           it. And I kept it. I have all of it at home.

           MATEO
           You are lying to me.

           JUDIT
           I didn't tell you this last night because I didn't
           realize you wanted to edit it. I took everything, all
           the double takes, the internegative, the sound tapes...
           Everything! You can have it whenever you want!

          

          
          The silence on the other end of the line reassures her.

           204

          

           MATEO
           That changes everything.

           JUDIT
           (Begs) Please, get out of that place, leave Ernesto
           alone. He had nothing to do with this.

          

          
          Mateo looks over at Ernesto Junior. The camera is still on its
          tripod, rolling.

          

          

           MATEO
           I am not so sure. He has yet to explain what he was
           doing in Lanzarote. I'll let you go, it seems he
           wants to talk... (Hangs up)

          

          
          Ernesto, finally, finds a DVD. He has it in his hand and brings it
          toward Mateo. (His hand enters into view on the screen of the 16mm
          camera).

          

          

           ERNESTO J.
           Here is a copy of "the making of".

           MATEO
           And why would I want that? I can't watch it! Plus,
           I'm not interested.

          

          
          Ernesto takes his hand and places the DVD softly onto it.

          

          

           ERNESTO J.
           Have someone you trust watch it and tell you about it.
           (This DVD proves that I wasn't responsible for the
           accident.) Oh, and even if my father had asked me to

          

          

           205

          
           harm you, I never would have... You are very important
           to me, Mateo...

          

          
          Ernesto speaks naturally, for the first time, Mateo takes him
          seriously.

          

          

          

          

          176. MATEO-HARRY HOME. INT. DAY. 2008


          

          
          Diego is watching the images of "the making of", while Mateo works out
          on his treadmill.
          At the last moment, an instant prior to being struck by the SUV, Mateo
          and Lena kiss inside the car. They are then distracted by a noise
          from the car that is about to hit them. These images have been
          recorded from inside a different car, which has been following them
          from behind, at a safe distance (Ernesto Junior's car).
          Mateo reaches the living room from the other end of the house,
          dripping with sweat.
          Diego has just watched the kiss and the accident. He rewinds and he
          pauses right at the moment when Mateo's and Lena's kiss fills the
          whole screen.

          

          

           MATEO
           Is there something new I should know about?

           DIEGO
           (Surprised and moved) It's a very interesting
           documentary... And, yes, in effect, Ernesto followed
           you to Lanzarote, until the last moment.

           MATEO
           The images are there?

           DIEGO

          

          

           206

          
           Yes.

           MATEO
           Those of the last night?

          

          
          They take a look at the images that Ernesto taped at "El Mirador" from
          the outside. Through the glass of the large window we see Lena and
          Mateo talking.

          

          

           DIEGO
           Yes. He recorded you at a safe distance, while you
           were on you way back after dinner. The scene is lit
           by the light of his headlights. It's not a lot, but
           enough to see what happened. Not only did he not have
           anything to do with the accident, he saved your life.

          

          
          Mateo watches the screen of the television without being able to see
          it, taking in the information Diego gives him.

          

          

           DIEGO
           And one more e thing: When you were at the traffic
           circle, before the SUV crashed into to you, you and
           Lena kiss...

           MATEO
           A kiss? I don't remember it...

           DIEGO
           It was an ordinary kiss, just one more of the many
           kisses a couple gives each other, almost without
           thinking...

           MATEO
           (Pensive) The last kiss...

           DIEGO

          

          

           207

          
           Yes. Even if it sounds cheesy, someone has to tell
           you: Lena did not die in your arms, as you dreamed,
           but the last sensation she experienced in this world
           was the taste of your mouth...

          

          
          Mateo watches without seeing the television, he gets close to the
          screen. With his fingertips, he caresses the surface, literally
          touching Lena's last kiss.
          Shots of Mateo's hand caressing the screen, with the image of the
          kiss. Shot of Diego observing the entirety of the scene, moved. A
          shot of everything. The appropriate kind of music accompanies the
          scene as it begins to fade out, bit by bit, while a sign appears:

          EPILOGUE.

          

          

          

          

          177. ON THE AVID. INT. 2008


          

          
          Luis' notebook, open on given sequences, as if Luis were present on
          this last moment of the definitive editing. An ashtray with a lit
          cigarette. The hands of the editor powering the Avid, directing the
          mouse through all the necessary steps until the screen fills with a
          block of sequences of "Girls and Suitcases," in Pina's loft.

          

          
          The images fill the entire screen of the main narration. It begins
          with the same sequence Diego and Mateo watched on television.
          Everything is the same, but it plays completely differently. The
          actresses are funny and fresh. The spectator does not know what the
          difference is, but, unconsciously, he must feel enthralled by the
          sequences of Pina and Chon, as if spellbound.

          

          

          

          

           208

          

          178. SCENES FROM "GIRLS AND SUITCASES." PINA'S LOFT. ENTRANCE

          HALL. INT. 2008


          

          
          Pina limps (fed up) toward the door. Looks through the peephole,
          behind it, Chon. They are good friends, but Chon is the last person
          Pina wants to see right now.

          

          

           PINA
           (Whispers.) What a drag! (She opens, not the least
           bit welcoming.) Oh, it's you?

           CHON
           (Anxious, reproachful.) I have left you a thousand
           messages!

           PINA
           Yes. A thousand from you and none from Ivan.

           CHON
           (Looks at the suitcase as if it were a menacing,
           strange bug.) What about this suitcase!

           PINA
           It's Ivan's. He's leaving me.

          

          
          She notices that Pina is wearing a cast on her leg.

          

          

           CHON
           And that cast on your leg?

           PINA
           His ex-wife, the crazy one. She pushed me down the
           stairs...

           CHON
           Well, we're in good shape! I've also broken up with
           my husband...

          

          

           209

          

           PINA
           Oh, sorry to hear it! I will make some coffee, I have
           spent my entire night looking for Ivan and I haven't
           gone to bed.

           CHON
           Neither have I.

          

          
          On her way to the kitchen Chon notices, through the bedroom door, that
          the bed has been burnt. She bumps into the phone that has been ripped
          out of its socket, now on the floor. She says nothing, she doesn't
          want to pry, but she thinks that Pina's situation must be more
          complicated than hers.

          

          

          

          

          179. LOFT'S KITCHEN. INT. 2008


          

          
          The chickens are living large, free to roam throughout the entire
          place.

          

          

           PINA
           When did you leave him?

           CHON
           Four days ago. I could see it coming. The thing is
           that after breaking up, I go out onto the street and I
           notice there is this "guy" looking at me.

          

          
          She also discovers the gazpacho on the kitchen table.

          

          

           CHON
           (Voracious.) Oh my, gazpacho! Can I have a bowl?

           PINA

          

          

           210

          
           No! I've spiked it with an entire box of downers...

           CHON
           How so?

           PINA
           In case Ivan arrived, he loves gazpacho.

           CHON
           (Scolds her.) Pina, my God!

          

          
          Throughout the conversation Pina makes coffee and prepares a tray of
          Fornassetti cups and the whole bit.

          

          

           PINA
           And that's not all! Since he wasn't calling, I've
           torn the phone from the wall, in a moment of rage...

           CHON
           I've tripped on the thing, but I didn't want to pry...
           And the bed? I think I noticed it smoking a bit...

           PINA
           I dropped a lit match and it began to burn, and I
           didn't want to squelch it. Fire purifies. I will
           have to change the mattress, but all for the best! A
           whole lot of less memories!

          

          
          Chon looks at her friend.

          

          

           PINA
           But excuse me, I've interrupted you. You were telling
           me...

          

          
          She grabs the tray, now full with coffee and pastries.

          

          

           PINA

           211

          
          Let's have breakfast on the terrace.

          

          
          The two women head for the terrace, which sits in front of the
          beautiful backdrop curtain of Madrid.

          

          

          

          

          180. LOFT'S TERRACE. INT. 2008


          

          
          Chickens and rabbits, running around. Lots of plants, etc. An
          idyllic and false image. Only the feelings are authentic and the
          women's happy disposition for living in hysteria.

          

          

           CHON
           (Struggling with what she's about to say.) Yes. I
           was telling you that I also have a suitcase at home.

           PINA
           Your husband's?

           CHON
           No. It's a suitcase with fifteen kilos of cocaine,
           uncut.

          

          
          Pina's eyes open wide.

          

          

           PINA
           You've become a dealer, Chon?

           CHON
           No! How could you think that! I am still a Counselor
           for Social Affairs in the City Hall! The suitcase
           appeared in my closet. Imagine the scandal if the
           police find out. They could put me in jail!

           PINA

          

          

           212

          
          Certainly!

           CHON
          I have to get rid of those fifteen kilos as soon as
          possible. (Thinks.) Because of the hours we keep,
          politicians consume a lot of drugs. So, between my
          party cohorts and city hall, I could distribute two
          kilos, but what do I do with the rest!

           PINA
          Throw it out!

           CHON
          Are you crazy? How could I throw it out?! I have to
          keep the police from finding it in my house... I have
          to take it some other place, immediately!

           PINA
          But I don't understand...

           CHON
          (Interrupts.) Well, it's clear, honey!

           PINA
          (Finishes her question.) How is it that the suitcase
          appeared in your closet?

           CHON
          (Drinks a little coffee, and takes a bite from a
          pastry.) As I was telling you, after breaking up with
          my husband, I bumped into this guy on the street who
          kept watching at me, good-looking, well hung. Summing
          up, I took him home and screwed him over and over...
          (Takes another sip of coffee.)

           PINA
          An how was he?

           CHON
          In bed? Divine. Look at my arm hair? I've got
          goose-bumps! (She shows her the hair on her arm,

           213

          
           standing straight up.) He's that kind of guy who
           knows how to drive a woman mad with pleasure!

           PINA
           So you lost your mind...

           CHON
           What else could I do?! So he asked me if he could
           stay at my place for a few days and I said OK, but I
           couldn't promise anything. I didn't want him thinking
           that I was that easy. So (breathes in) he brought the
           suitcase. He asked me if I cared if he kept it in the
           closet. He said that he was attached to the suitcase.
           And, well, why would I care?! (breathes in) By pure
           chance, I am watching TV last night and I find out
           that the police have nabbed him in the course of a
           drug sting operation and that he is one of the most
           wanted traffickers! I open the suitcase and I
           discover that it is filled with little bags of
           cocaine. I ran out of the house and I haven't
           returned since...

          

          
          Pina breathes out in solidarity.

          

          

           PINA
           What a story, my God!

           CHON
           (Concluding.) I was wondering why he was such a good
           fuck! For men living in such high-stakes conditions,
           each fuck could be the last! (She reaches her arm
           out, again.) Look, the goose-bumps!

          

          
          Once again, she shows Pina her arm, hair standing straight up.

          

          

           214

          

           PINA
           I've seen them already... They comes easy for you...
           (Changing topic.) And the suitcase?

           CHON
           (Humble.) I was going to ask you... if you didn't mind
           that I brought it here. If they find it in my house,
           well, it's not about what could happen to me, but that
           it's just not an ideal situation for the Counselor of
           Social Affairs. Imagine how upset the mayor would be,
           and my party! My party can't take one more scandal!

          

          
          The doorbell rings:

          

          

           CHON
           The police!

           PINA
           Shush, how could it be the police?! No one knows
           you're here!

           CHON
           I am a woman who attracts attention, Pina. Since I
           was a little girl...

           PINA
           Just pretend you're here for coffee...

          

          
          Pina limps toward the door, uncertain. (Behind it she will find new
          adventures). She looks back, toward Chon, half-smiling, tired but
          charming, filled with understanding and a love for life, with all its
          emotions and its contradictions. It's with this half-smile on
          Magdalena's face that the sequence arrives at its end.

          

          

          

          

          181. AVID ROOM. INT. 2008


           215

          
          Mateo, Judit, Diego, and the new editor, somewhat removed from them,
          are seated in front of the editing table, they are both moved and
          entertained.

          

          

           DIEGO
           This is hilarious!

           MATEO
           (Wants to be sure.) It doesn't sound like what we
           watched on TV, right?

           DIEGO
           Not at all! This is a whole different thing!

          

          
          Judit is the one who is most deeply moved. She may cry, but this time
          her tears will be happy tears, welcome tears.

          

          

           JUDIT
           It's wonderful, Mateo. We should re-release it.

           MATEO
           The important thing is to finish it. Films must be
           finished.

          

          
          Judit keeps crying.

          

          

                                         THE END



Broken Embraces



Writers :   Pedro Almodovar
Genres :   Drama  Romance  Thriller


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