NAUTICAL
B R UTA L
B R UTA L
B R UTA L
B R UTA L
N AUTICAL
B R UTA L
SCAN OVER THE PAGES WITH THE BRUTAL APP AND WATCH THE CONTENT COME TO LIFE 4
B R UTA L
The open seas - it often evokes a strong sense of wonder and endless possibility in the great unknown. Amongst a variety of viewpoints throughout the world, it is also a force of catharsis and calm undulating waves on beaches, the steady beat of summer raindrops, the sweet release of a moon on tide. Indeed, the open seas can dare us to dream and challenge ourselves to explore depths we never knew we were capable of discovering.
Yet, out on the open ocean, it is said that every silver lining has a cloud. The miracle of water can sometimes be seen as less of an infallible force of tranquility and more of an inducement to worry and woe. A Dr. Jekyll to a Mr. Hyde, our nautical dreams can be wrought with a chaos and catastrophe in the blink of an eye. Through literature and music, man has documented human tragedies that transpire when the monstrous powers of water overtake its calm and sensible side which attracts us to it. With the coupling of words and sounds, the cinema adds an extra layer of visual legitimacy on the wicked ways in which water weaves terror and fear into the human psyche. The open seas in this supplementary study of sound, story, and script are captured with menace and melancholy. They are not the dreamer’s depictions. They are, in a word, B R U TA L . 5
N AUTICAL
More than seventy percent of the Earth is covered by these very seas and their kin – rivers, lakes, waterfalls, and glaciers. Though the human reach extends far, the waters of Earth are home to a wide world we still have yet to lay eyes upon. Thus, the desire for aquatic adventure remains embedded in the heart of all, from the experienced explorer to the daydreamer.
N AUTICAL
B R UTA L
6
B R UTA L
MOTHER KNOWS BEST by John Ayooky Falola
MAN
This is the start of something--
EXT. BEACH - DAY FLASHBACK
Long enough for me to miss you.
Crowds of people stroll up and down the sun drenched beach. Gorgeous bodies lie on beach towels, soaking up the rays. Others avoid the sun with beach umbrellas. Under one of these umbrellas lie a MAN and a pregnant WOMAN. The man is reading a book while the woman rests peacefully.
He gives her a kiss on the lips. She looks down at her stomach and begins to LAUGH.
The man goes silent. His left eye pupil reveals a graphic murder in which his wife’s blood is strewn across the kitchen floor. A beach appears in which a young teenage boy lies dead by the water.
WOMAN Who’d have ever thought? After what we’ve been through, who knew that--
MAN
The man puts his finger over the woman’s mouth to silence her.
You awake, honey?
MAN
He touches her forehead. Stirring from her sleep, she smiles lovingly at him. WOMAN
What’s important is being here with you right now. This is the beginning of a new life for us.
How long have I been asleep?
(putting his hand on her belly) 7
WOMAN Honey, are you okay? What’s wrong? The man’s body gradually starts going into violent convulsions. She tries to control his shaking and fails. WOMAN (CONT’D) Wh-What’s happening? Talk to me! Help! The woman gets up from the umbrella. She begins to run
MOTHER K N OWS BEST
BLACK SCREEN
B R UTA L
down the beach towards the lifeguard tower. WOMAN (CONT’D) Help! (muted) Help me! The dying man watches as the woman runs away. A crowd of people begin to amass around his body. His eyes are lifeless as he struggles to speak. MAN J-Jacqueline...J-Jacqueline...
N AUTICAL
EXT. THE BEACH - DAY Waves crash onto a vacant beach. The sun is setting lower. A howling wind tosses sand across the endless beach. In the distance, we see MICHAEL walking towards us. MICHAEL LASOTA (V.O.) I never knew my father. Apparently, he suffered from a rare heart condition that killed him before my birth. Growing up, you told me that I, too, was a victim of this same disease. INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT CONTINUOUS
uninviting. Her eyes are cold. WENDY LASOTA Can’t sleep? MICHAEL LASOTA I had that dream again. (beat) The one where that woman, Jacqueline-WENDY LASOTA I thought I told you never to speak her name! The boy seems to become smaller in her looming shadow. She smiles wickedly. WENDY LASOTA (CONT’D) Now, Michael, what happens when you aren’t feeling well? The boy’s eyes become wide with fright. He shakes his head in disagreement. Wendy closes the door and locks it. She heads down the hall and into THE BATHROOM Where she rummages through a cabinet full of prescription bottles and syringes. As she closes it, a newspaper clipping falls to the ground.
A little boy’s eyes open. For a moment, his eyes seem devoid of any life. It is Michael Lasota as a seven year old child.
INSERT - Newspaper clipping
MICHAEL LASOTA
BACK TO SCENE
Jacqueline. Jacqueline.
Wendy picks it up and puts it back into the cabinet.
The bedroom door opens. A younger Wendy enters the room. Her demeanor is
Title: Local doctor, Wendy Miller, 29, found dead.
INT. MICHAEL’S ROOM CONTINUOUS 8
Wendy unlocks the door and enters. A syringe is in her hand. She looks around for Michael, who is hiding under the bed. WENDY LASOTA Now, Michael, the medicine must heal you. Do you want to end up like your father? Wendy walks around the bed. Michael tries to calm his breathing. WENDY LASOTA We shouldn’t play around when we have a heart condition, should we, Michael? MICHAEL LASOTA (whimpering and whispered) Please, mommy, no. Michael clasps his mouth. The footsteps stop. A deafening pause ensues. Michael is pulled out from under the bed. MICHAEL LASOTA (CONT’D) No! EXT. THE BEACH PRESENT DAY The sky is becoming darker. Michael sits motionless on the sand. He intently watches the coming and going of the tide. He constantly wipes at his tears. INT. MIDDLE SCHOOL CAFETERIA - NOON CONTINUOUS A male and a female student sit at a cafeteria table, staring confusedly at each other. They look straight forward.
B R UTA L
MOTHER K N OWS BEST
9
N AUTICAL
B R UTA L
10
B R UTA L
FEMALE STUDENT What did you say? At this point, Michael is revealed, sitting on the other side of the table. He is lost in a daydream. He blinks to alertness. MICHAEL LASOTA
Why are parents so fucked up? FEMALE STUDENT Hey! Watch your language. My daddy says that people who swear go to hell.
WENDY LASOTA
MALE STUDENT
Michael doesn’t look up. Wendy remains standing a short distance from him.
Hey. Sorry, what did you say?
At least Satan won’t mind my filthy mouth.
MALE STUDENT
FEMALE STUDENT
She just asked you the same question. I ask you how gym class is coming along and all of a sudden, you say no.
Funny.
FEMALE STUDENT
Michael sits quietly. He plays with the food on his tray. MICHAEL LASOTA Yeah, well you’re not the only one who feels that way. My mother’s been acting strange lately.
The two students shove each other playfully before looking over to Michael. He is crying. MALE STUDENT
Beautiful, isn’t it?
MICHAEL LASOTA (V.O.) I wanted to believe that everything could remain normal. And lately, it seemed as if it as my head that wasn’t in place. As if I was... Michael looks down towards the sand.
Michael, what’s wrong? Dude, say something!
MICHAEL LASOTA (V.O.)
FEMALE STUDENT
Wendy desperately advances towards him but cautiously retreats a few steps.
Michael...I’m warning you. I won’t ever speak to you again if you don’t stop-MICHAEL LASOTA Jacqueline. Jacqueline.
...Imagining things.
WENDY LASOTA Let me help you, Michael. Together, we can fight your condition.
MALE STUDENT
Michael collapses to the ground.
I know how you feel buddy. Last night, I caught my mother--
MALE STUDENT
Michael begins to laugh through his tears.
Michael!
MICHAEL LASOTA
FEMALE STUDENT
(nudging the female student)
Yeah, you told us. Already. A million times.
Go get the nurse now! Michael, can you hear me?
You know, it’s taken me up to this moment in my life to realize that the one who was imagining things was you.
The male student shudders. Michael LAUGHS. A female voice LAUGHS in his mind. He looks around the cafeteria to see where it’s coming from. The two students don’t notice his strange behavior.
The female student runs from the table. Tears stream down Michael’s face.
WENDY LASOTA
MICHAEL LASOTA
What are you talking about? How can you say that?
MALE STUDENT
Jacqueline! Jacqueline! EXT. BEACH - DAY Michael looks out towards 11
(coldly)
MICHAEL LASOTA Even for a failed actress,
MOTHER K N OWS BEST
Michael, what’s gotten into you lately? You’re starting to freak me out.
the ocean. The waves crash relentlessly onshore. Wendy appears in the right corner of the frame.
B R UTA L
you’re a master of fake reality.
WENDY LASOTA
I want now is resolution.
Wendy fights back her tears.
I couldn’t lose him again! I wouldn’t lose him again!
Wendy’s comment falls on deaf ears as Michael continues to distance himself.
WENDY LASOTA Michael, you take that back! I’m your mother. Michael jumps up in a rage. He starts towards Wendy. ***
MICHAEL LASOTA And all of this time, this sickness has been your little ploy as well to turn me into my father.
MICHAEL LASOTA
WENDY LASOTA
You’re not my fucking mother! You aren’t now and you never have been!
I had good reason, Michael. I couldn’t bear the thought of you living with those twisted hallucinations of yours. It was for your own good.
Wendy reaches in her purse and pulls out a gun. Michael stops in his tracks. He turns around and wanders a few steps. MICHAEL LASOTA N AUTICAL
Michael turns around.
This place looks familiar. It’s as if I’ve been here before. WENDY LASOTA That’s because you have, Michael. Somewhere along this beach, your father died. His new wife was by his side. MICHAEL LASOTA Jacqueline. WENDY LASOTA You don’t understand anything, Michael. When your father left, he took away the only chance I had to give life. No one loved me like he did. No one loved me at all. MICHAEL LASOTA Jacqueline! You killed her after he died, didn’t you?! To keep the one thing that would keep him alive in you?
MICHAEL LASOTA My own good died when you killed my mother, Wendy! Wendy steadies the gun towards Michael’s back. WENDY LASOTA The name’s Jacqueline. Wendy cocks the pistol. WENDY LASOTA You see, to really keep your father alive, I had to become the woman he truly loved. I am your mother, Michael. I am Wendy! Michael turns around and smiles. MICHAEL LASOTA You know, as conflicted as you’ve made my life seem, you’re the one I pity. Michael begins to walk away towards the ocean. WENDY LASOTA Luckily for you, son, all 12
WENDY LASOTA Michael, don’t walk away from us! Don’t make me do this! Michael closes his eyes and sees an IMAGE of his father and real mother on the beach, happy together. A tear falls down his face onto the sand. He smiles. MICHAEL LASOTA (under his breath) Resolution. Wendy becomes hysterical as Michael walks to the water’s edge. She pulls the trigger amidst a piercing CRY. A SPLASH is heard. BLACK SCREEN A gunshot RINGS through the air. THE END
B R UTA L
MOTHER K N OWS BEST
13
N AUTICAL
B R UTA L
MARITIME SERIES pictures by David Foulkes
14
B R UTA L
ETERNAL FATHER, STRONG TO SAVE Eternal Father, strong to save, Whose arm hath bound the restless wave, Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep Its own appointed limits keep; Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee, For those in peril on the sea!
Words by Sarah F. Adams (1841) Music by Bethany and Lowell Mason (1856) Appears in the films: San Francisco (1936) and Titanic (1997) Chorus Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me, Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee. Refrain Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee! 15
MARITIME S ERIES
NEARER MY GOD TO THEE
B R UTA L
EVAS OT GNORTS ,REHTAF LANRETE
N AUTICAL
,evas ot gnorts ,rehtaF lanretE ,evaw sseltser eht dnuob htah mra esohW peed naeco ythgim eht ts’ddib ohW ; p e ek s t i m i l d et n i o p p a n w o s t I ,eehT ot yrc ew nehw su raeh ,hO ! a e s e h t n o l i r e p n i e s o h t r oF
MARITIME SERIES EEHT OT DOG YM RERAEN
)1481( smadA .F haraS yb sdroW pictures by David Foulkes ) 6 5 8 1 ( n o s a M l l e w oL d n a y n a h t e B yb c i s u M ) 6 3 9 1 ( o c s i c n arF n a S : s m l i f e h t n i sr a e p p A )7991( cinatiT dna
s ur o h C !eehT ot reraen ,eehT ot ,doG ym ,reraeN ,em htesiar taht ssorc a eb ti hguoht ne’E .eehT ot ,doG ym ,reraen ,eb llahs gnos ym lla llitS n i ar f eR ,eehT ot ,doG ym ,reraeN ! e e h T ot r er a e N 16
B R UTA L
MARITIME S ERIES
17
N AUTICAL
B R UTA L
18
B R UTA L
AMAZING GRACE Words by John Newton (1779) Music by James P. Carrell and David S. Clayton (1831) Appears in the film: White Squall (1996) Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found;
Words by Julia W. Howe (1861) Music by John William Steffe (1856) Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword; His truth is marching on. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on. 19
MARITIME S ERIES
BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC
B R UTA L
E CA R G G N I Z A M A ) 9 7 7 1 ( n o t w e N n h o J y b s dr o W llerraC .P semaJ yb cisuM ) 1 3 8 1 ( n ot ya l C . S d i v a D d n a ) 6 9 9 1 ( l l a u q S et i h W : m l i f e h t n i sr a e p p A
N AUTICAL
d n u o s e h t t e e w s w o H ! e c ar g g n i z a m A ! e m ek i l hct er w a d e va s t a h T ; d n u of m a w o n t u b , t s o l s a w e c n o I
CILBUPER EHT FO NMYH ELT TAB )1681( ewoH .W ailuJ yb sdroW ) 6 5 8 1 ( e f f e t S m a i l l i W n h o J yb c i s u M yrolg eht nees evah seye eniM ;droL eht fo gnimoc eht fo erehw egatniv eht tuo gnilpmart si eH ;derots era htarw fo separg eht gninthgil lufetaf eht desool htah eH ;drows tfiws elbirret siH fo .no gnihcram si hturt siH !hajulellaH !yrolG !yrolG !hajulellaH !yrolG !yrolG .no gnihcram si hturt siH !hajulellaH !yrolG !yrolG 20
B R UTA L
MARITIME S ERIES
21
B R U
TA L