Love in Concrete - screen play

_{1.- EXT. LIBERTADOR AVE.. CARLOS' TAXI. NIGHT.}

_{Deep in the middle of the night. Carlos (49
years old, a small tuft of hair slicked back, long face and deep-set eyes,
Argentinean immigrant) drives at a moderate pace looking in all directions as
he goes. He is singing at the top of his lungs, accompanying a Carlos Gardel
tape playing in his corroded old Ford Farline 500 with its seats, reupholstered
one too many times. He is accompanied by a male voice singing falsetto in the
background.}

_CARLOS

_{(Lyrics of the tango)}

_{Si arrastré por este mundo la vergüenza de
haber sido y el dolor del ya no ser, ... bajo el ala del sombrero... Era para mi la vida entera, como un sol de
primavera mi esperanza y mi pasión, ahora cuesta abajo en mi rodada, las
ilusiones pasadas yo no las puedo arrancar}

_{The avenue is abandoned and desolate. We are
near a side street which joins LIBERTADOR AVe.. The avenue’s modern overhead
roof is composed of rhythmical, concrete beams.}

fadeout

_{fade in: The title appears :}

_{Love in Concrete}

_{cont. scene 1}

_{Carlos' voice, together with the
passenger's, grows from Moderato to Fortissimo, and while he sings lower, she
reaches soprano notes and a climax in the music.}

_{2.- ext. TONY’s house. NIGHT.}

_{TONY and his FATHER are arguing in front of
the main door of their house. (a two
floors style 40’s house)}

_FATHER

_{You have nothing, and with nothing you are
nobody. If you want to live here, you have to accept that I make the rules and
everyone has to respect them. And if you don't accept them then you can get the
hell out of here.}

_TONY

_{Quit preaching! I'll do whatever I want!}

_FATHER

_{Not in my house.}

_{The Father looks at him for a second, then
takes and pushes him by the shoulders, and gestures for him to leave. Tony
tries to avoid getting thrown out.}

_FATHER

_{Get out!}

_TONY

_{Times have changed... Haven't you noticed?
Get real.}

_{The FATHER pushes TONY, and then furious,
slaps his son powerfully once in the face.}

_FATHER

_{You'd better show me some respect, boy!}

_{The FATHER shuts the door in Tony's face.
Tony touches his cheek.}

_TONY

_{(yelling
angrily, humiliated)}

_{Dad, open up!}

_{From the street, we can see his FATHER in a
window of the house. Tony beats the door desperately.}

_FATHER

_{In my house I won't allow thieves, nor
good-for-nothings, druggies or homos. In my time, I studied and worked. Hit the
books, show some respect, admit I was right, then we'll talk.}

_{Having said this, his FATHER turns off the
light and shuts the window. Tony's reaction is unexpected. He pauses for an
instant, pressing his face to the metal door. Then he hits the door a couple
more times and finally gives it a solid kick.}

_TONY

_{Old man!}

_{He turns in his exasperation and searches
for something on the ground. He finds a stone and throws it at the windows of
his house. We hear the sound of broken glass falling to the ground and furious
shouting from his FATHER. His FATHER, furious, opens the door, and TONY
escapes.}

_FATHER

_{When I lay my hands on you I'll teach you
how to be a little real man.}

_{Tony runs away down the street.}

_{3.- EXT. LIBERTADOR AVE.
NIGHT.}

_{Tony runs across the street corner
intersecting at Libertador Ave. He is both sobbing and weeping.}

_{He takes the stairs which lead to the lower level of the avenue.
When he reaches the bottom he stops racing and begins to walk in the right hand
lane of the avenue. Tony continues to cry.}

_{4.- INT. CLAUDIA'S CAR.
LIBERTADOR AVE.. NIGHT.}

_{Claudia and Alvaro, an upper middle class
professional couple are driving in their car.
Alvaro (45) drives. Aside Claudia(39) sits. They return from a party,
elegantly dresses. They discuss in the car.}

_CLAUDIA

_{We cannot continue this way living!. All
this lost sense.}

_{Alvaro makes a short pause.}

_ALVARO

_{If you don't like this country, you leave to
your motherland and that’s.}

_CLAUDIA

_{I am not speaking about the country!. You
know exactly what I’m talking about.}

_ALVARO

_{Stop making me scenes... The dinner was delicious. They seen to be a distinguish
family.}

_CLAUDIA

_{Alvaro... I want the separation!}

_{Alvaro accelerates to a maximum. Claudia
remains in suspense. She buckles up the security belt .}

_CLAUDIA

_{Stop it!}

_{5.- EXT. LIBERTADOR AVe.
HÉCTOR'S MOTORCYCLE. NIGHT.}

_{On the same avenue, on a 500cc Yamaha,
Héctor Ruiz (25 years old) accelerates at full speed, making a tremendous
racket with his muffler. He is accompanied by his girlfriend Yamila Yajaira
Gómez on the back seat. They need to yell to hear each other above the
deafening noise of the motorcycle.}

_HECTOR

_{You'll see, everything will be ok. We'll get
the money and we'll have the time of our lives living off the muses of this
city.}

_{YAMILA YAJAIRA}

_{Sure thing, honey-bee.}

_HECTOR

_{And we're gonna get out of this shit-hole,
'cause Lopez is an asshole if he thinks I'm going to stay a Mr. Nobody all my
life.}

_{YAMILA YAJAIRA}

_{Of course not, sweetie.}

_HECTOR

_(singing)

_{All I need is a honey, who looks like a
princess with pockets full of money! My queen!}

_{YAMILA YAJAIRA}

_Woweeeee…!

_{He accelerates and roars around a corner,
leaving behind an echo of noise.}

_{6.- EXT. LIBERTADOR AVE..
NIGHT.}

_{Carlos continues to drive along LIBERTADOR
AVe..}

_CLEMENCIA

_{Gardel’s songs always make me feel happy.}

_CARLOS

_(pompous)

_{What would a poor devil like you know about
happiness?}

_{(with
emphasis)}

_{Let me explain: Happiness is love and the
possibility of being loved.}

_{Clemencia shamelessly makes fun of Carlos’
pedantic and solemn tone.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{(equally
serious)}

_{His majesty hath spoken! The taxi driver,
the Casanova of Caracas’ prostitutes!}

_CARLOS

_{(turning around to look at her)}

_{What? You think it’s funny?}

_{(he
stares at her)}

_{Ever since I first met her we have looked
each other straight in the eyes…}

_{(he gestures perfectly)}

_{As if we wanted to dance…}

_{(absorbed
in thought)}

_{Her eyes were shining. She was fragile,
slender and had elegant hands. A deep and sensual voice…}

_CLEMENCIA

_{Look out!}

_{Clemencia screams because Carlos almost runs
into the pedestrian who is ambling down the right lane of the avenue. Braking
suddenly, Carlos avoids driving into Tony (19, dressed like all the other young
people his age, delicate features, clean-shaven).}

_CARLOS

_{Damn it, idiot! Get the hell out of the
street.}

_{Tony continues walking unperturbed, ignoring
the car and Carlos’ angry honking of his horn.}

_CARLOS

_{Get moving! You don’t think life is sweet,
or what?!}

_{7.- EXT. LIBERTADOR AVE.
HÉCTOR'S MOTORCYCLE. NIGHT.}

_{Suddenly, Héctor, who was riding his
motorcycle with his girlfriend in the previous scene, screeches his brakes to
avoid crashing into the taxi himself, almost causing an accident.}

_HECTOR

_{Goddamn you asshole! Move it!}

_{8.- INT. CLAUDIA'S CAR.
LIBERTADOR AVE.. NIGHT.}

_CLAUDIA

_{Put an end to this farse I’m telling you!}

_{From afar they see the blinking emergency
lights on Carlos’ car and Héctor’s motorcycle and they are forced to slow down
to keep a prudent distant. They hear Carlos’ intense, loud horn. In the middle
of the avenue, Tony continues along his way. The taxi cannot proceed on its
journey because of Tony and inches his way behind him.}

_CLAUDIA

_{What could have happened?}

_ALVARO

_{I don’t know but I’m not going to stop here
so that they can attack us and rob us clean.}

_{9.- EXT. LIBERTADOR AVE..
TAXI. NIGHT.}

_CARLOS

_(to
Tony)

_{Out of the way, idiot! You think you’re some
beauty queen walking down a catwalk?!}

_{Carlos honks his horn, more and more
annoyed. Héctor, on the other hand, yells at the taxi driver.}

_HECTOR

_{Out of the road, Argentinean wanker!}

_{10.- INT. CLAUDIA'S
CAR.LIBERTADOR AVE.. NIGHT.}

_ALVARO

_{These damn criminals are not going to fuck
with me.}

_{Alvaro takes the stun gun out of the glove
compartment. Claudia jostles Alvaro, taking the gun from him and she puts it
back into the glove compartment.}

_CLAUDIA

_{Hey, calm down! Can’t you see, nothing’s
happening.}

_ALVARO

_{Hey, woman, don’t contradict me.}

_{A car alarm and Alvaro’s yelling blends into
Carlos’ blaring horn. Alvaro is driving the car wearing white golf gloves.}

_ALVARO

_{(yelling at everyone outside, losing his temper)}

_{Fucked up criminals!}

_{11.- EXT. LIBERTADOR
AVE.. NIGHT.}

_{A moment of chaos. Now a street cleaning
truck joins the line of cars. A beggar appears near one of the bridges which
run over the avenue. He is declaiming a midnight serenade to the moon, bottle
in hand. Utterly scornful, his hair long and dirty, he yells:}

_BEGGAR

_{(at the top of his lungs, somewhat rhetorically and
slurring his words)}

_{Noticing your shapeliness, I was struck and
wondered, oh precious and beloved moon,
Only I know your secret.}

_{Behind the beggar, the
wind makes wobble an indicative post that says: ”LIBERATION AVENUE.” The beggar
unzips his pants and urinates with a dense stream upon the lower level of the
avenue. It resembles a rural scene from a Breugel painting. The urine falls on
the roof of Carlos’s car.}

_BEGGAR

_{(sings
a children’s song with a childish voice)}

_{Let’s look at the moon eating olives and
throwing the seeds in an empty pipe}

_{Carlos backs up his car with his tires
screeching, and drives off. Héctor follows suite, as do Alvaro and Claudia in
their car. Each of them drives off swerving violently and each one in turn
yells at Tony as they go by him. The beggar continues his sermon in the
distance. Tony walks with his eyes on the ground as if nothing were happening
around him. He murmurs something under his breath.}

_TONY

_(off)

_{I don't cry because of weakness or anger; I
always got the impression that nobody loved me! I sometimes wonder, why they even brought me into this world if I
didn’t have an invitation? Do you really feel invited to life?}

_CARLOS

_off

_{I’ll fuck you over of these days, you son of
a bitch!}

_TONY

_{(between
clenched teeth, unhearable)}

_{Eat shit, you bastard!}

_TONY

_off

_{Today for umpteenth time he really wanted to train
me to be a male!, for the umpteenth time he kicked me out of the house, but for
the first time it was me who decided to leave.}

_Beggar

_{(rambling on in an apocalyptic
tone)}

_{Nobody shall know your secrets because we live in a
worly without pity, a world of cynics. The day will come when you descend from
the skies with your seven trumpets sounding catastrophes, fire, violence,
storms.}

_{off form the Beggar: “Misery will be revealed with
opulence because it is written that there are seven capital sins, Oh Moon,
magnificent and beautiful, Woman of my dreams.”}

_{Tony observes the poor man following him for quite
some time. The beggar is walking along the upper level of the avenue, while
Tony takes the lower one. Tony
continues walking straight along the avenue until he is lost from sight on the
horizon.}

_{Tony heads towards the sidewalk, and takes the
stairs leading up to the upper level of the avenue.}

_{12.- EXT. LIBERTADOR AVE.. CARLOS' CAR. NIGHT.}

_{Carlos' cab turns back onto the main avenue
where groups of women, "ladies of the night", stand on the pavement
alongside the walls.}

_CARLOS

_{See, as I was saying, there is so much
unhappiness on the streets. She is an oasis in this desert!}

_{The cab slows to a halt after having passed
the line of women loitering along the avenue. One of _the women, tall and
slender, approaches the cab. The cab drives off. Carlos Gardel continues to sing, slowly fading as the cab drives
off.}

_{13.- INT. LIBERTADOR AVE.. CLAUDIA'S CAR. NIGHT.}

_{Claudia watches Alvaro as he drives, he in
turn doesn't turn to look at her at all, annoyed. Claudia bursts out laughing.}

_CLAUDIA

_{Goodness, dear, we're going to have to
commit you!}

_{Alvaro screeches the car to a halt and
stares at her.}

_ALVARO

_{You are well aware of what country we're
living in, right?}

_{Alvaro drives off, again with tires
screeching. After a moment, Héctor
and his girlfriend pass by riding on the motorcycle. Héctor observes them, and
vice versa.}

_CLAUDIA

_{Look at that couple - I'm sure they have
less than we do and are much happier!!}

_{Alvaro accelerates, passing them again.}

_{14.- EXT. LIBERTADOR AV.
TRANSVESTITES. NIGHT.}

_{The slender figure heads towards the other
”women” who are standing on an overhead pedestrian bridge. The bridge unites
over the walled-in avenue.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{How are things going, Libertad?}

_{Libertad has her hair done up the way the
Argentinean actress, Libertad Lamarque, used to wear hers}

_LIBERTAD

_{From bad to worse. With the cold, the men in
this city don't want to stand and come out for a walk.}

_{They speak and gesture like the
neighbourhood women waiting in a Laundromat.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{That's strange, the cold doesn't bother me a
bit. The truth is, the night started extremly badly... Did Giovanni come?}

_libertad

_{No Giovanni what so ever came! The only ones
who already passed several times were the policemen, racketing!}

_Clemencia

_sad

_{It’s a pitty. He said that when he returns
he’ll take me out for dinner.}

_LIBERTAD

_{You are a so naif dreamer!. How many times I
have told you not to give your ass to anybody for free. Men are able to say any
thing in order to fuck and not to pay.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{I might sound stupid, but I do believe that
one day I’ll find someone who loves me, you’ll see!. The worst is ... They
can’t imagine we’re just opening up shop.}

_LIBERTAD

_{You're going to be the one to open up shop
because mine is closed due to the weather. Darling!}

_{Suddenly, the canon of a war tank and then
the tank itself appears behind them and slows to a stop. They are astonished by
this strange appearance. Libertad sees it first.}

_LIBERTAD

_(whispering)

_{Pinch me!}

_CLEMENCIA

_{(also
whispering)}

_{What’s the matter with you?}

_{Libertad points to the tank and they are
both dumbstruck before this strange appearance. The hatch opens and a Soldier peers out.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{(turns around and whispers to herself)}

_{Oh my God.}

_SOLDIER

_{Good morning ladies...}

_{Could you tell me which way is it to the
Presidential Palace?}

_CLEMENCIA

_{(whispering into Libertad’s ear)}

_{Stay calm - men with guns and in uniform are
my speciality.}

_{(addressing the soldier)}

_{You go straight and at the end of the
avenue, you take a right. Then you’ll reach Pantheon Avenue.}

_LIBERTAD

_{No, what are you saying, it’s in the other
direction! At the light, about two blocks away, you take a left, and cross the
avenue. There, the second house has a blue door. Ring the doorbell and the
president will open it for you.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{(scolding Libertad through gritted teeth)}

_{You’re directing him to your own house,
woman!}

_LIBERTAD

_{Hey, poor thing, they’ll kill him in a war
soon.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{Don’t get him all confused, you’ve never
gone to visit the president.}

_{(to the
soldier)}

_{Go straight, Lovey.}

_SOLDIER

_{Thank you. Good night, ladies.}

_{The Soldier disappears down the hatch and
the tank resumes its crawl.}

_LIBERTAD

_{What is going on? Now, I'm really heading
in. I’m finished for tonight.}

_{Libertad walks carefully away from the
bridge. Clemencia is left standing alone.}

_{15.- EXT. LIBERTADOR AVe.
HECTOR' MOTORCYCLE. NIGHT.}

_{Héctor drives by with his girlfriend Yamila.}

_YAMILA

_{Honey one! What if they catch you?}

_HÉCTOR

_{Don't worry! I’ll manage everything.}

_{The motorcycle begins to sputter.}

_HECTOR

_{What a shit life! Isn’t there going to be a
time when we get to seize the day?}

_{The motorcycle continues to sputter and
finally dies, stopping in the middle of the avenue. They get off the motorcycle
and Héctor gives his muffler a kick.}

_HECTOR

_{Damn it!}

_{When Héctor kicks the muffler, he also hurts
his foot.}

_HECTOR.

_Ouch!!

_{Yamila Yajaira can't keep from laughing at
him.}

_HECTOR

_{What are you laughing at? I Héctor
Wilkelmann Ruiz Graterol, grandson of Ol' Ruiz, swear by the most holy of
holies, that you'll never see me set foot in that poor-hole or any other like
it again. OK!!!}

_{Ahead of them in the distance, the crazy man
unrinates facing the moon. He declaims to the winds as he walks.}

_{16.- EXT. A WALKWAY RUNNING OVER
LIBERTADOR AVE.. NIGHT.}

_{We see the cars speeding by, hear their whizzing
noise. We see Tony on the edge of the walkway which does not have safety
banisters because they have been stolen. He throws little pebbles at the cars driving
below. The bridge he is standing on passes over the subterranean Libertador
Avenue. Each car slices the air, leaving behind a sharp, quickly receding
noise. Tony senses a certain danger in his position – he risks losing his
balance and plunging down.}

_{He is being observed by Clemencia, one of the women
who travelled in Carlos' taxi.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{(in a strange, virile voice)}

_{Are you looking for adventure, or what?}

_{_Bent over his body, Tony sees Clemencia’s feminine,
high-heeled legs.}

_{Tony lift his head to see her better. In the
half-light of the night, barely lit by the street lamps, he sees that she is
tall, well-figured, athletically built and dressed in a tight dress… very sexy…
After this appraisal, he ignores her and laconically spits out a few words in
her direction.}

_TONY

_{Go to hell!}

_{Clemencia is perplexed and stands at a distance,
approaching him cautiously. Clearly, she has not understood what he said. In
the background, a luminous neon sign advertising beer, swings in the night
breeze. She watches Tony’s silent sobs.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{What did you say?}

_TONY

_{I said, get lost!}

_{At this point, she grabs him aggressively by the arm
pulling him to herself, and distancing him from the rim of the bridge. She
believes he is contemplating jumping.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{What do you think you're doing? You still believe
angels can fly?}

_{They both fall ostentatiously to the sidewalk, on
top of one another. Tony continues to wrestle furiously with her until he
immobilizes her.}

_TONY

_{Are you crazy, or what?}

_CLEMENCIA

_{You're the one who's crazy.}

_{Clemencia gets up, and pulls him up, too. She
adjusts her skirt and shakes off his pants. Clemencia notices the boy’s eyes
are damp from crying.}

_TONY

_{Don't touch me, leave me alone.}

_{Tony heads to the edge of the bridge and resumes his
walk along it's rim leaving Clemencia behind. Clemencia walks parallel to him
while he walks along the edge, keeping no more than a meter behind him. Tony
ignores her. The cars continue to speed by beneath him.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{It's a nice night. Want to grab a beer?}

_TONY

_{(repeats monotonously)}

_{I told you, go to hell!}

_CLEMENCIA

_{Hey, son, what bad manners - I invite you to go to a bar for a beer, and you invite me to
hell. Are you by any chance too busy?}

_{Tony a bit disconcerted, does not know what to say.}

_TONY

_{Can't you just leave me alone?}

_{He leans out over the edge. Clemencia observes him,
then takes him securely by the arm and pushes him towards the street. She
pretends to push him.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{Alright already. Jump. Go ahead, throw yourself. If
that's what you want, do it.}

_{Tony grows rigid in Clemencia's grasp.}

_TONY

_{Jesus! I don't want to jump!}

_{From a distance, a police car is driving in their
direction, its patrol lights are turned on and the siren is blaring. Clemencia
watches him. Gradually, the siren's
noise grows more intense.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{(staring at Tony)}

_{Let's go!.....C'mon, run!}

_TONY

_{What's happening?}

_CLEMENCIA

_{I'm telling you to run.}

_{Clemencia takes him by the hand and runs towards the
stairs which join Solano Avenue.}

_{They watch the patrol car with its lights flashing,
sounding the alarm ever more loudly, but it glides down the other side of the
street. Clemencia looses one of her evening shoes. Tony goes to pick the shoe
up, and returning he sees the patrol car only 250 meters away.}

_TONY

_(jokingly)

_Cinderella!

_CLEMENCIA

_{Run, you idiot, you don't know what it like to be
fucked by a cop.}

_{Clemencia spins around taking her shoe, grabs his
hand and they clamber down the stairs to the sidewalk below on Solano Avenue.
They jump a low wall and hide behind it. We hear the police siren in the
distance.}

_{17.- EXT. BEHIND THE WALL. SABANA
GRANDE. NIGHT.}

_{Cramped in their hiding place behind the wall, Tony
and Clemencia are forcibly pressed up against each other. The siren can still
be heard approaching in the distance.}

_TONY

_{(looking at Clemencia’s breasts)}

_{Hey... Hey...}

_CLEMENCIA

_(whispering)

_Shush!

_{Their mouths and breaths are also very close, and
this closeness creates a certain forced eroticism. Especially since neither of
them wants to touch the other.}

_TONY

_{(still looking at her breasts)}

_{Are you a he or a she?}

_{Clemencia shrugs her shoulders as if to say she
doesn't know.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{(between clenched teeth)}

_{I told you to be quiet!}

_TONY

_{Are you for real?}

_{Clemencia lowers her eyes.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{What do you think?}

_{Tony observes her. CLEMENCIA watches him as well.}

_TONY

_{What’s your name?}

_CLEMENCIA

_{They call me Clemencia, and you?}

_TONY

_Tony…

_{The patrol car stops. They hear the police shouting…
The police hesitate then head towards the sidewalk stopping at the corner. We
can hear their running footsteps
slapping the pavement. Tony tries to say something but Clemencia signals
for him to be quiet by pressing her fingers to his lips. Their breathing grows
heavier in anticipation.}

_{We hear the policemen approaching. They grow silent
and stare intensely at each other. The police motion for silence, guns in hand.
They motion that someone is behind the wall.}

_{POLICEMAN 1}

_{Here kitty, kitty, kitty… I think it's getting
hotter...!}

_{Clemencia
signals to Tony to stay quiet. She takes off her necklace and rings, and
takes the money out of her purse.}

_{POLICEMAN 2}

_{Here kitty, kitty… Smells like a pussy...cat!}

_{Clemencia motions that she is going out there, and
gives him the necklace, rings and money.}

_CLEMENCIA

_(whispering)

_{See you 'round!}

_TONY

_(whispering)

_{What about the beer...?}

_{Clemencia emerges from the dark corner. She walks
like a queen.}

_CLEMENCIA

_{How annoying - you can't even pee in this city
without being interrupted!}

_{POLICEMAN 2}

_{Look at who we've got here... it's Clemencia!}

_{Policeman 1 assaults Clemencia taking her wallet.}

_{POLICEMAN 1}

_{Let's see what's in here...}

_CLEMENCIA

_Nothing...

_{POLICEMAN 1}

_{Not enough catch in these stormy seas?}

_{Clemencia snatches the wallet out of his hands, and
then he grabs it back more aggressively.}

_{POLICEMAN 2}

_{You’d better be nice…}

_{Tony overhears everything from behind the wall.}

_{POLICEMAN 1}

_{What do you say we go for a little walk?}

_CLEMENCIA

_{I get paid to walk the streets.}

_{POLICEMAN 2}

_{You know who's the boss here?... You're my man!...}

_{The policemen laugh, and put Clemencia into
a ”cage” [Trans: a caged compartment in the back of the police car]. They drive
off. Tony hears the siren wailing into the distance.}

_{18.- INT. BAR
”YESTERDAY”. night.}

_{A bar, lit with punctual lights of various
warm colours. A hugely fat woman on the stage, middle-aged and dressed in a
tight dress with a low neckline, gesticulates vehemently and expressively while
singing a love song. She is singing a bolero.
The room is completely in the shadows and one can only see the
audience's faces half lit by the light of their cigarettes. She's holding a
flower and her dress is much too tight but her act is very sexy,
Caribbean-style.}

_CARMEN

_(singing)

_{[translation of the song: I thought you were
different, thought you were sincere, but you're just like the other girls, I'm
so sorry, so sorry...]}

_{Carlos drinks alone, seated in the corner.
He drinks a tequila down in one gulp. An empty bottle stands on his table.}

_{Jacques, an old man of 60, sleeps at the
table next to Carlos. Suddenly, he wakes up, looks at his watch and stands up
mechanically.}

_JACQUES

_{We have met, I am… Jacques… Jacques, the French Lover!.}

_bouncing

_{”A beautiful dick of the glorious past...”
That's what they tell me… When this country went bankrupt… I lost everything.
Now nobody loves me any more.}

_{Accompanying Jacques is a Fat Hairdresser
prostitute with an exaggerated and out of date hairdo constructed of dyed black
hair, which suggests her advanced age. She smokes profusely using a cigarette
holder and drinks champagne.}

_HAIRDRESSER

_(seated)

_{I was… the favorite
hairdresser of all the television stars in the … I had the most Caracas’s
luxurious salon… I used to coif Lupita
Ferrer, Susana Dujms, our Miss World… One time, I even did Claudia Cardinale
who came to Caracas for a party at the
Hotel Humboldt… Yes my Dear… Me. I’m the famous Madame “Tusau”!}

_{The Fat Hairdresser and drunken Jacques argue and lament their glorious pasts.}

_Jacques

_to
Carlos

_{Life is full of surprises…}

_{Carlos isn't really paying attention to what
they are saying. He is asleep}

_carmen

_(singing)

_{translation
of the song:}

_{Don’t
play with the games of the destiny}

_{our souls cannot be split}

_{you left me behind breathless your sins may remind
unforgiven.}

_{19.- ext. PASSAGEWAY TO
LIBERTADOR-SOLANA AV. NIGHT.}

_{Tony emerges from the hiding place. He passes the
stairs leading from la Solana Avenue to Libertador Avenue. Some children are
sleeping there. Their's are the faces of the sleeping city, it's atmosphere,
noises and alarms of broken into cars, distant police sirens. The city carries
within itself a clear sense of danger. We hear the sounds of a thief running, a
gunshot firing, the screams of a victim stripped of their possessions. We see
no gun or police.}

_{A "glue sniffing" street boy calls out;
Tony thinks the boy's talking to him.}

_{STREET BOY}

_{Yo', give me back my chain necklace, it was a
present from my ol' lady.}

_(murmuring),

_{c'mon,
buddy, give it back!}

_{20.- INT. BAR
”YESTERDAY”. night.}

_{Carlos wakes-up, giving a strong ovation, a
frenetic and euphoric reaction. Carmen ends singing making a reverence to the
public. When the song is ended. But there is not longer public and show, the
local is empty. There is only the cleaning staff in the bar. The show is over.}

_{Cleaning man}

_{Sorry sir, but I’m not a good singer}

_{Carlos gets up and slowly leaves the locale.}

_{21.- EXT. and INT. carlos’s
pension. night-DAWN}

_{Carlos parks his car in the street. He goes to the
door of the pension, a 50 year old, one story. He moves secretively, entering
through the patio. A dog pursues him, snapping at his pants.}

_CARLOS

_{Scram,
Guachito, don't be breaking my
balls!}

_{He tries to open the door without making any noise
with the keys. The dog begins to bark. From inside the house we hear Mrs. María
scream: ”Misia Josefa, let‘s see if Mr.
Carlos has arrived, the dog‘s barking.”}

_{22.- INT. Carlos’s room. DAWN.}

_{Carlos enters the room quickly and closes the door,
but the dog continues barking. Mrs. María approaches the pension room. She
sticks her hand through the window, and runs her fingers along the curtain.
Simultaneously, Carlos hides under the bed.}

_JOSEFA

_{Mr. Carlos, has the shameless gentleman arrived?}

_{Carlos hears Mrs. María calling him. She appears by
the window but doesn't see him. The dog barks incessantly, and finally jumps
through the window and enters the bedroom. It begins to bark at him under the
bed.}

_JOSEFA

_{Mrs. María, the dog got into Carlos' room, bring me
the keys!}

_{Under the bed, Carlos signals to the dog to keep
quiet while it snaps at his pants. Josefa goes to look for the keys. At that
moment, Carlos takes the dog and throws it out of the window. Josefa returns
and observes that the dog has left the room.}

_JOSEFA

_{Mr. Carlos!}

_{Still under the bed Carlos begins to laugh in silence,
and has a laughing attack.}

_CARLOS

_(Off)

_{Laughing is a way to cry! I‘m 54 years old and there
are times that I don't have money to pay the rent. When I arrived in this
country, I was 24. I never thought that in 20 years, I would still have these
problems.}

_{Carlos wipes his eyes dry, looking in the mirror,
revealing the wrinkles and bags under his eyes.}

_CARLOS

_(off)

_{Today marks the full 20 years since I arrived from
my beloved Buenos Aires! Today I knew that I cannot continue lying to myself,
something has to change my story, something...}

_{A map of Argentina and a BOCA JUNIOR soccer club
poster hang beside the mirror. The wall is covered with marks depicting the
days that have passed since he first arrived. Carlos looks at himself in the
mirror and holding a deodorant in his hand as if it were a microphone, sings a
capella}

_CARLOS

_(humming)

_{My beloved Buenos Aires, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla,
bla, blaaaaa}

_{23.- EXT. VIEW OF THE
AVILA PARK MOUNTAIN. DAWN.}

_{A shaft of light outlines the peaks of the
mountains which surround Caracas. The clouds shift from one summit to the
next The city is still in a slumber but
undoubtedly the dawn is descending upon the city.}

_{24.- INT. CLAUDIA’s
PENTHOUSE/BEDROOM. MORNING.}

_{The morning sunlight illuminates the
luxurious bedroom. A comfortable and spacious king size bed dominates the room,
antique night tables at each side. Claudia Pérez (39 years old, a mature,
well-kept woman with beautiful legs) cannot sleep. She observes the Avila
mountains on the horizon. She appears worried.}

_CLAUDIA

_off

_{Today it dawned just as it has every day for
the last 15 years, and I don't know why I’m complaining. I don't know why I
should cry, I’ve got everything!}

_{Her husband Alvaro moves in his sleep, on the bed.}

_{I am a perfect wife, an exemplary doctor, an
ideal daughter, a socially perfect character, straight out of a successful t.v.
soap opera.}

_{FLASHback 15 A. PICTURES
from CLAUDIA‘s LIFE:}

^{An unrealistic montage follows, showing
scenes from Claudia's life in quick flashes. They are not photographs but still
frames of real life moments.}

^{- the day she married Alvaro;}

^{- graduation day showing her in cap and
gown;}

^{- a scene from her medical world, ie. her as
pediatrician examining a child.}

_CLAUDIA

_off

_{Even so, I feel as if something has exploded
inside me, and when I‘m sad, I cry at any given moment.}

_{Alvaro is still sleeping beside her. The
alarm clock begins to buzz intensely. This Japanese electronic gismo first
creates a ruckus then switches the radio on.}

_{The couple sits up in synchronisation on
opposite sides of the bed. For a moment they stay sitting there immobile. Then
they swing their legs over the edge of the bed, backs to each other. Without a
word, they stand up and put on their slippers. Their silence is complete, only interrupted
by the whispers of their clothes and shuffling of their slippers.}

_{Alvaro shakes off his sleepiness when he
sees Claudia. He moves sprightly towards the bedroom window where he keeps a
rack of weights for weight lifting. Despite his age, Alvaro has stayed in great
shape. He does some exercises energetically.}

_{25.- INT. CLAUDIA’s
PENTHOUSE/BATHROOM. DAY.}

_{Claudia and Alvaro, stand in front of a
large mirror. Each brushes their teeth with an electric toothbrush, making
virtually the same movements as the other person does.}

_{Alvaro applies shaving cream to his face
with a brush.}

_{Claudia takes off her night-shirt and finds
her cream on the Shelf. Next to the cream jar is an electric shaver and blade.
She spreads cream over her body. She puts the cream back and takes out another
jar. Her hand almost brushes the blade. With gentle, sensual movements, she
rubs cream into her face, neck and breasts.}

_{Alvaro places the electric shaver on the
built-in sink.}

_{Reaching for her cream on the sink, Claudia
cuts herself on her husband’s razor. The cut begins to bleed.}

_CLAUDIA

_{I cut myself!}

_{She extends her bleeding finger to her
husband for him to see. He ignores her as he slaps after shave cologne on his
face. He is completely absorbed with himself.}

_ALVARO

_{Put some alcohol on it.}

_{26.- INT. DR. CLAUDIA
PEREZ’ PENTHOUSE/BEDROOM. DAY.}

_{Alvaro dresses in front of the mirror,
fixing his tie. Claudia places her
doctor’s briefcase on the bed and takes out a Band-Aid.}

_CLAUDIA

_{Tomorrow is my grandmother’s birthday... I
won’t have time to buy her a present.}

_{Alvaro looks back into the mirror.}

_CLAUDIA

_(to
herself)

_{What should I get her?}

_{Her husband grimaces while brushing his suit
free of lint.}

_ALVARO

_{I don’t kno}