Apocalypse Now Page #17

The men rise as a very attractive woman enters the room.

Willard finally does as well, and she moves to the chair

next to him.

GASTON:

Roxanne, I hope you are feeling

better.

ROXANNE:

Je vais bien maintenant.

GASTON:

May I present Captain Willard?

He is of a paratroop regiment.

You know the difference between a

paratrooper and a regular soldier,

don't you , my dear?

ROXANNE:

(smiling and taking

Willard's hand)

Yes, they come from the sky.

She sits -- there's an uneasy silence.

Willard is caught with this exotic woman on one side of

him, and the ongoing conversation on the other. He is

forced to face toward Gaston, and drawn to look at Roxanne.

WILLARD:

I would like to know more about

the .. uh, plaque...

Philippe turns around, points to an elaborately scripted

wooden plaque with various tallies on it.

GASTON:

Attacks repulsed, as I was saying.

(hard)

This is only for this war, Captain.

Viet Cong -- 54; North Vietnamese

regular forces -- 15; South

Vietnamese -- 28 -- regular

forces and otherwise.

(pause)

Americain -- 6. Of course, they

were, perhaps, mistakes, Captain.

WILLARD:

Of course. I -- Once we make

our repairs, we could send word,

we could have you evacuated

from here.

GASTON:

Captain?

WILLARD:

You'll get blown outta here some

day.

GASTON:

We will never 'evacuate', Captain

-- this is our home. Indochina is

ours; it has been so for a hundred

and twenty-one years, there is

something to say for that.

WILLARD:

The Vietnamese think it's theirs

-- I guess the Americans do,

too.

GASTON:

But we civilized it. A place

belongs to those who bring light

to it, don't you agree.

WILLARD:

I always thought the French came

here to get the rubber.

PHILIPPE:

Excuse me, I must attend to my

men.

He gets up, and leaves abruptely -- followed by his wife.

ROXANNE:

May I ask where the Captain is

going in his little boat?

WILLARD:

We were going upriver when we

got caught in a storm, ma'am.

GASTON:

Upriver? Why upriver? There is

nothing there, only jungle.

WILLARD:

Do you know that jungle?

GASTON:

When I was a boy, my father would

take me there, to hunt. There

are a few savages, but no man

can live there, no white man.

WILLARD:

What about an American named

Kurtz?

There is a pause.

GASTON:

We have never heard of him.

Gaston rises, and takes Roxanne's hand.

GASTON:

(continuing)

Bon nuit, Roxanne -- bon nuit,

Captain.

Willard turns.

WILLARD:

Good night.

Gaston leaves. Willard and Roxanne are left alone. The

servants clear the table.

ROXANNE:

You must realize, Captain -- we

have lost much here -- I, my

husband. Gaston -- his wife and

son.

WILLARD:

I'm sorry to hear that.

ROXANNE:

(rising)

Cognac?

WILLARD:

I should be checking on the

boat.

ROXANNE:

The war will still be here

tomorrow.

She walks out of the room.

WILLARD:

(thinking)

I guess so.

He follows.

175 INT. SITTING ROOM - FULL SHOT - WILLARD AND ROXANNE

Roxanne sits, pouring a brandy, while Willard stands.

ROXANNE:

Do you miss your home, Captain?

Have you someone there?

WILLARD:

No. Not really.

I was discharged from the army

four years ago. I went home,

wasted some time, bought a Mustang

Mach 1, drove it a week. Then

I re-upped for another tour. No,

everything I love is here.

ROXANNE:

Then you are like us.

She reaches out to him; indicating that he sit.

ROXANNE:

(continuing)

What will you do after the war?

WILLARD:

I just follow my footsteps, one

at a time, trying to answer the

little questions and staying away

from the big ones.

ROXANNE:

What's a big question?

WILLARD:

Kurtz.

(pause)

I know you've heard of him.

ROXANNE:

Yes.

WILLARD:

What did you hear?

ROXANNE:

That strange things.. terrible

things have occured around this

American, Kurtz.

WILLARD:

What things?

ROXANNE:

Gaston would never tell me. It

was asubject not to be spoken of,

Captain.

WILLARD:

Yes.

ROXANNE:

Did you know -- deeper in the

jungle, upriver -- there are

savages?

WILLARD:

I know.

ROXANNE:

But Captain, I mean -- cannibals.

A long pause. Then she looks at the cognac she poured for

him.

ROXANNE:

(continuing)

What a pity, you don't drink.

Since my husband died, there

are so many things I must do

alone.

She takes a sip.

Willard moves to the French doors, which have been left

partly open to let a breeze in. He steps onto a terrace

overlooking the river.

176 EXT. THE TERRACE - MED. VIEW - WILLARD - NIGHT

A machine gun emplacement is situated on the terrace cover-

ing the front of house, from the river.

ROXANNE:

(from the sitting room)

Are you warm, Captain?

WILLARD:

The river is beautiful.

In fact, we REALIZE that he is checking the boat.

177 WILLARD'S POV.

The P.B.R. is under guard by a couple of Gaston's

Vietnamese.

176 MED. VIEW ON WILLARD, ROXANNE

She, thinking it romantic to talk about the river, comes

up behind him.

ROXANNE:

I spend hours watching that

river from my bedroom window.

It fascinates me.

She moves her body close to his; and, in a moment, he is

kissing her.

179 CLOSE ON WILLARD, ROXANNE

One eye steals another look at the P.B.R.

180 VIEW ON THE P.B.R.

Two of the guards leave -- two remain, getting ready

for the long night.

181 VIEW ON WILLARD, ROXANNE - ON THE TERRACE

His hands wander over her body as she clings to him. Then

she takes his hand, and leads him back into the sitting

room, and up the stairs.

182 INT. ROXANNE'S ROOM - FULL VIEW

It is dark. She leads him into her room and closes the

door. He stands there. In the center of the room is a

large canopied bed with mosquito netting hanging down over

it. The windows also have netting and barbed wire --

there is a .30 calibre machine gun mount in the far one.

He look around. she goes over to the bed, and turns

down the sheets. Then she slips out of her dress and

stands there facing him.

He puts down his gun and strips off his shirt. She lays

down on the bed and watches him.

ROXANNE:

I have been lonely here, Captain.

He moves to her, slipping into the bed. M-16 is

leaning against the wall in his reach.

FADE OUT.

183 EXT. ROXANNE'S TERRACE - NIGHT

We can VIEW into the room, as Willard has silently

slipped out of her bed, and is a dark sinister figure

kneeling in final preparations for going out in the

night.

Without a sound, he comes out to the terrace, and

scales down the wall of the old building, disappearing

into the darkness.

184 EXT. THE DOCK - P.B.R. - NIGHT

Two Vietnamese guard the P.B.R. -- suddenly, feet first,

the first disappears into the thicket.

185 CLOSE VIEW ON WILLARD

in the thicket; we realize he has just killed the man with

a knife. Willard stalks the second guard and makes quick

work of him with his knife. He even enjoys it. Silently,

he drags the body out of sight.

186 MED. VIEW ON THE P.B.R.

The dark figure boards the boat silently. He disappears

into the hold.

187 NEW VIEW

He lifts out several cases of supplies, working quickly,

with a grace that indicates he is a man who has done his

best work alone, and at night.

CUT TO.

188 INT. ROXANNE'S ROOM - CLOSE SHOT - WILLARD - MORNING

He sleeps soundly alone in the bed - we HEAR SOMEONE

moving around in the room. He wakes suddenly -- PULL

BACK TO REVEAL Roxanne combing her hair and buttoning up

her blouse. She notices he is awake and smiles.

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