Scene 17

A park bench. Shoelaces. You’re all like, No no no, don’t try and suck me in with that stuff. Let’s just talk. I don’t know if you’re into sports, what kind of music you’re into, what kind of food you like, if you collect anything. Screw you. Here’s a park. A park bench. A sunny day. Joe is kneeling in front of the bench, tying his shoelaces.

The frame moves on. It does not rest for long on anything, but there are hints of a boy and a girl who may be in love. There is an elderly man in a straw hat (O), walking with a stick. He may be carrying a bag. There is a child being fussed over by her mother. There is a man walking a dog. There is a very beautiful girl. Her hair is probably either blonde or very dark. She doesn’t just look beautiful. She actually is beautiful. Just to give you a little more background. I know I know. People don't like to be disturbed at home, especially in the evening. Perhaps there is something that you would not expect to find in a park in a movie in the sun. I can’t think of anything. We hear, off-camera, a muted ‘oh, bugger.’

Now Joe is sitting on the bench, trying to repair his glasses with his hands. A lens has popped out of the frame. O in a straw hat is sitting next to him.

O [taking off his hat]: You can see through this hat, you know.

Joe: I don’t understand.

O: It’s a fine weave.

O is offering Joe the hat.

O: The light is focused through these little holes.

Joe is regarding the hat.

O: You can do the same by curling your fingers.

O curls his index finger, pointing to the place where his thumb meets his palm. He holds it up to his eye.

The frame is from Joe’s perspective. We see the blurry mother put a blurry hat on the blurry child. Everything is sharpened and darkened by a finger and thumb.

Joe: Oh right . . .

O has the straw hat on his lap. He is wearing a black velvet hat of some sort. He is offering Joe a coxcomb.

O: If you look through this one, you see the spiritual objects that are attached to people.

A change to black and white. We are seeing from Joe’s perspective again, but a little “swoopy” like in The Evil Dead. Joe sees the couple who are in love. There are various indistinct objects under their clothes. The man’s hands are tied together by a chain. There is a big lock on the chain. We see him place a strawberry with a key tied to it in her mouth. He kisses her.

Joe: How does that work?

His hands reach to cradle her head, and the chain chokes her throat as he kisses her.

O: You can see through the bells at the end.

Joe: Oh.

The hat pulled off: colour again.

The very beautiful girl stops near the woman and her child. She bends briefly and says some things to the child. The man with his dog passes by.

Black and white again. The same activity, seen closer.

The very beautiful girl has gaffs, sharp metal hooks coming from her wrists. She perhaps also has syringes attached to parts of her body. The mother and child are tied up in string and rope. When the girl bends, a metal hook frays and perhaps cuts through some of these bonds. The child can breathe a little better. The man walks past. There are books attached to the dog. There is no leash, only a bright lamp instead. There may be other objects attached to the man. His appearance is brief.

The person who the beautiful girl is here to meet comes into the frame. We have not seen him before. His name is TOBY. He is covered in bandages and wounds. They speak about this and that. There’s laughter. She reaches up to brush her hair from her neck, and a hook glances across his cheek. She leans against him, and it cuts his chest.

The frame swings round to O. He has an animal strapped to his chest. He blinks impassively.

Colour again. O offers Joe another hat.

O: You can’t see anything through this one. It’s black velvet.

It is.