Professor Clauss was so joyful and excited to teach, I didn't even mind (that much) that this class was at 8:30 in the MORNING?!?! How and Why professors chose to do that I will not understand, and he even said that he usually holds this class at SEVEN AM!! Also, sometimes I was seated in a way in which I couldn't read the subtitles of the movies we watched in class, so I guess I learned a little Green along the way!
My favorite texts we read were Sophocles' The Three Theban Plays about Oedipus, and Medea within Ten Plays of Euripides. The favorite movies that we watched were Cacoyannis' Iphigeneia (so sad), Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms, Passolini's Medea and Cocteau's Orphée (in which Orpheus falls in love with Death herself...). Orpheus' story inspired my final project, a screenplay shown below...
The first scene is a long establishing shot of a bedroom. The setting is very dimly lit as there is only one small window. It is night, and the only source of faint light is from a lamppost outside which illuminates the interior. A twin bed is set up next to the window, and beside the bed is a small wooden table scattered with books and certification papers. Above the table are three brass medals hung up on the wall with nails, including an honorable discharge commemorative ribbon (yellow, red and blue). A man (Orin) in his early thirties is sitting on the bed, hunched over, drawing with charcoal pencils on a small sketchpad. Orin has long black hair and an unkempt beard. He has smile line wrinkles near his mouth that look out of place, and his eyes are tired and turned down, almost as though they haven’t seen a sunny day in a while. The only other item in the room is a small silver flask under the wooden table, almost out of view to the audience. [Music throughout this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRu4is_5q3Q]
The camera then glides towards Orin (without cutting to a different scene) and focuses on his hands drawing. The picture on the sketchpad is of a dove flying from a forest that is on fire, but there is a chain from the doves’ foot to the base of a tree that is being devoured in flames. There is a small figure, a woman, standing with one of her hands on the tree; her mouth is open as if she were saying something, or screaming. Orin’s hands suddenly let go of the sketchpad and it falls to the ground. The shot fades to black and reopens to Orin in a café with an older man (his father, Oalin) sitting across from him. [The music now shifts to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8OipmKFDeM] The café has red brick walls and is bathed in light and full of green plants…a happier, brighter atmosphere. Orin is gripping his sketchpad which is resting on his thigh under the table. His other hand is holding a golden-colored mug. There is a medium shot with both men’s profiles in view, and the music fades as the following dialogue ensues:
OALIN
Son…how are you?
ORIN
Hey, yeah, I’m um, I’m doing fine, dad…you?
OALIN
Just happy to see you, that’s all, happy to see you again.
ORIN
Yes, great to be back. So great, I’m happy to see you too, dad. I just, I don’t know…I can’t stop thinking about--
OALIN
(Cuts him off) Oh, son, you just have to try and let go. You did great for our country, you’re a hero, just you believe it! Look forward now, you have your whole life ahead of you!
Orin
Yeah, sure, dad. I’ll be fine soon, just fine…I-I feel better already. Much better since I got back.
OALIN
Ah… that’s great, Orin. You are so strong! My hero! Oh, well, what have you drawn there? (Gestures towards Orin’s sketchpad on his lap). You were always so artistic, it’s great seeing you draw again. Your drawings could move mountains…
ORIN
Thanks, dad, nothing much here…I just have nothing to do now that I’m not…working anymore…here… (He opens his sketchpad to the second page, showing a drawing of a woman’s hands holding a pomegranate with six seeds missing) I’m working on my hands--
OALIN
Oh, wow! This is great…where do you get the inspiration for this? I love it…you are so talented, I’m so proud of you. A hero and an artist!
ORIN
No, no. And I don’t know, really…stories from a past life, I guess. (Chuckles and closes the sketchpad again, and Oalin joins him in laughing).
The scene then cuts abruptly, and suddenly it is a close-up of Orin’s well-shaven face, dirty and blood-stained, sobbing. Then there is another abrupt cut to a medium shot of Orin holding the lifeless body of a woman. The setting is a forested area, with men and women running and yelling; the background noise is filled with gunfire and shouts. [Music playing behind the scene:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbmS3tQJ7Os] . The music abruptly stops, as Orin wails--
ORIN
Please, no, God please no! Emma, come back, come back please, please! Help, (looking around frantically), anyone please help her! Hello?! No!! No!!
The camera pans down to a close-up of the woman’s face. She is the same woman from Orin’s first drawing, and she is obviously dead. One of her blue eyes is still open.
The scene then cuts abruptly again to Orin, in full army uniform, with the same woman in a brightly colored kitchen. She is holding a spatula as Orin pulls her into an embrace, and they start dancing; they sway across the kitchen floor and laugh. [Music (now seemingly diegetic) starts to play once again over this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgqeRzgMOfo]
Another harsh cut to the same bedroom as the first scene, then to a close up on Orin’s sketchpad. Orin is frantically scribbling and crying over his sketchpad; there is the same woman’s figure on it, and wrapped like a shawl around her neck is a snake. The snake looks as though it is about to pounce, its mouth gaping wide open with sharp, white fangs. Orin’s shaky voice is heard while the shot is still focused solely on his drawing hands. [Music throughout this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTKB4xRF7RY]
ORIN
Oh, please come back…I’ll do anything, anything! Emma…
Orin’s hands then let go of the charcoal pencil and let it drop to the carpeted floor. He riles through the whole sketchpad and the viewers can see that the same woman (Emma) is featured in some way or another in every single drawing…some are close-ups of her hands or her face, some are of her whole body, but every page has that same woman.
[Music then switches to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lwI_7n8hJw] as the scene cuts to the same café with Orin and Oalin seated at the same table. They are in the middle of their conversation. Orin’s hair and beard have visibly grown.
OALIN
No, I didn’t say that, I just think you may wanna talk about things, that’s it. And this guy has really good reviews from other…patients. And other men who fought like you did! He’ll help you, Orin. A hero deserves a future.
ORIN
Dad, I’m fine, I don’t need your help. I’m doing good dad, I’m doing fine.
OALIN
Please, Orin, just for me. If you won’t do this for yourself do it for me…please.
ORIN
I just—ok, fine, whatever dad, I’ll go…
OALIN
Thank you, son, thank you. I love you.
Shot fades out to black and stays on a black screen for a couple of seconds. Then it slowly fades into a medium shot of a room with black velvet walls and a black couch. There is a roaring fireplace in the corner. Orin is sitting on the black velvet couch holding his sketchpad. There is a man (Hadyn) sitting across from him holding an open notebook and a black pen hovering above the paper.
HADYN
Well, hello…Orin. Name’s Hadyn but people usually call me Mr. H. So, Orin, first tell me: why did you decide to come here today? This takes a lot of courage…
ORIN
Well, my dad’s just worried, you know. I came back from the war a couple weeks ago, so I don’t know, I guess I still think about it. But it wasn’t horrible, I just…I’m a hero now so it couldn’t have been that horrible, I…(trails off, there is a long pause until Hadyn understands Orin has finished talking).
HADYN
I've read through your file, and this seems to be a classic case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Many struggle with this, you are not alone. You just need to learn how to not look back into your past.
ORIN
I…I was worried it was that…I’ve heard of it but…just don’t really know what to say. It’s just, Mr. H, I have to look back, I don’t want her to--
HADYN
(interjects) Who? Who can’t you let go of? Who are you holding on to?
ORIN
My…Emma. I met her over there…I just can’t, I can’t let her go. She was a doctor, and when I saw her for the first time, I fell fast; she was the best thing I ever.…I really loved her. She danced and I sang, ya know? She danced and I sang…she danced…she shouldn’t have died that day! She stepped on a land mine and…died. Oh, I tried to save her, I tried. I wish I had died instead…Oh, she deserved a future! I don’t deserve this life if she doesn’t have one. I try to look forward, but I have to look back, to save her memory…oh, God help me. Please help me!
HADYN
Orin, you must not look back. No, you cannot look back. You have lost her, and you will continue to lose her again and again and again if you keep looking back, letting her memory consume you. You do not have to completely forget, but you just must move on. If you keep looking back you will lose her forever; her memory will be forever tainted by your sadness. For her, for yourself, look forward.
ORIN
I just, I can’t. I can’t escape her memory…
HADYN
You can do it, Orin. You must do it. Do not look back. Do not look back.
ORIN
Yeah, Mr. H, alright. I’ll try.
The camera then, from the medium shot during the mens’ dialogue, glides towards the fireplace, and the screen is engulfed into the raging fire. The screen goes almost completely white, too bright to even look at for too long, and then transitions into an establishing shot of Orin’s bedroom once again. [The music is now:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3IA6pIVank]. He is sitting in his bed, hunched over his sketchbook (similar to the first scene) drawing on his sketchpad. Over time, the sketchpad has lost its structure and the papers are nearly falling out. Orin’s hair and beard have grown even longer. The silver flask that was under the bedside table in the first scene is now sitting next to him on the bed.
The shot then cuts to a close-up of Orin’s face. He is sweating, and it looks as though he had either just been crying, or is about to start crying (his eyes are bloodshot and rimmed with red). This shot then cuts to a close-up of his hands, which are preoccupied drawing in his sketchpad. The drawing is a close-up view of Emma’s face. Her hair has fallen over one of her eyes, but the other is immaculately detailed and piercing, as the rest of her features are more simply portrayed. The audience has never seen color in his drawings, but the eye contains blue in the iris—it looks alive. Orin is shading her eyelid with his charcoal pencil, which has become quite small through its continued use. The phone rings, the music stops suddenly.
ORIN
(pulls the phone out of his pocket) Hello, yeah?…Oh, hey Becca, how’s it going?..Yeah it has been quite a long time…well, I’m not too busy I guess, no…well, I can’t tonight, Becca I’m sorry…I know I said I wasn’t busy but, um, something came up…no I’m not avoiding you! No, Becca it’s not that! I just, I just have to….well I know I’ve missed you too…I’d love to see you just not tonight…I told you I’m not avoiding you, I’ll, I’ll just see you later…Hello? Becca? Hello?…(Orin then puts the phone down on his bed).
Nobody understands…nobody. Nobody can! How could I love Becca when I still love… Well, I can’t just move on, let her…let her kill me if she wants to! No, no…she’ll get over me soon enough. She’ll be just fine without me…
Orin then stands up, absentmindedly, from his bed. His sketchpad falls to the ground, open to the page of his last drawing of Emma. He grabs the flask and starts pacing. As he is walking around, it is the first time that a limp is apparent. Emma’s eye seems as though it is following him around the room from the page, her gaze unwavering and strong.
The camera abruptly cuts back to the muddy, forested war-zone. A medium length shot of Orin is shown, as he is firing a gun towards an unseen enemy. The camera moves closer towards him, and a single tear forming an uneven path down his cheek is visible. Orin suddenly is struck, and crumples to the floor. He grips onto his leg in agony. Now there is a transition to a long shot where both Orin and Emma can be seen.
EMMA
(running towards Orin) I’m coming! Don’t move, I got you!
ORIN
No, Emma, don’t come over here. Stop--
EMMA
I’m almost there! I’m com--
Suddenly there is an explosion, and the entire screen goes white. The blank white screen lasts for approximately five seconds, then fades back to Orin pacing about his bedroom. Every couple of seconds he takes a sip from the flask. The room is growing darker and darker (in order to portray a quickened passage of time).
Orin starts taking sips at shorter and shorter time intervals. The shots transition from medium shots (when he lifts the flask to his lips) to close-ups of Orin’s eyes shifting quickly back and forth to closeups of the drawing on the ground (showing Emma’s face and her piercing blue eye). The transitions between the three shots become quicker and quicker—changing into a blur between Orin’s eyes, the flask raising to his lips, and her eye. This goes on for a couple of seconds, coupled with the [soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRu4is_5q3Q]. Then the music stops, and the rotating shots suddenly stop at a medium shot of Orin. He takes one more sip, and then sits on the bed. He slowly lies down.
ORIN
I’m…I’m a…hero…
Orin softly and quietly closes his eyes. The shot fades to a completely white screen. [Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuiHlK2NS3g] plays as the credits roll.