Babel Page #9

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79 EXT. PATIO, ANWAR'S HOUSE -- DAY

Richard and Anwar have walked out into the patio to wait for

them. The sheik approaches.

SHEIK:

(In Arabic)

Allah be with you.

ANWAR:

(In Arabic)

Allah be with you.

He turns to Richard and speaks to him in very bad French.

SHEIK:

(In bad French)

I am Atallah the sheik and this is

Walid, the moukadem. I'm very sorry

about your wife.

RICHARD:

I don't understand French.

ANWAR:

He says he is very sorry about your

wife.

Richard thanks him with a nod.

SHEIK:

(To Anwar, in Arabic)

Tell him that I want to ask him some

questions.

ANWAR:

(To Richard)

Can he ask you some questions?

Richard nods. The sheik continues in Arabic.

46.

SHEIK:

(In Arabic)

Do you have any enemies in this

country?

ANWAR:

He asks if you have any enemies in

this country.

Richard shakes his head.

RICHARD:

Of course not.

SHEIK:

(In Arabic)

Then why were you shot at?

ANWAR:

Why did you come to Morocco?

RICHARD:

Vacation.

ANWAR:

(In Arabic)

He has no idea.

SHEIK:

(In Arabic)

What does he do for a living?

ANWAR:

What do you do for a living?

RICHARD:

I'm a magazine editor.

ANWAR:

(In Arabic)

He edits magazines.

SHEIK:

(In Arabic)

Anti-muslim magazines?

ANWAR:

Anti-muslim magazines?

RICHARD:

No, magazine magazines.

ANWAR:

(In Arabic)

No, normal magazines.

47.

RICHARD:

Tell him we need to get my wife out

of here. Ask him if the ambulance is

on its way.

ANWAR:

(In Arabic)

He wants to get his wife out of here.

He wants to know if the ambulance is

on its way.

SHEIK:

(In Arabic)

Tell him the federal police are in

charge of this, that they are going

to send the ambulance.

ANWAR:

He says the federal police are already

in charge, that they are going to

send the ambulance.

The sheik looks at the house.

SHEIK:

(In Arabic)

Hey, did your cousin finally end up

getting married?

ANWAR:

(In Arabic)

Yep, she's married, she doesn't live

here anymore.

Richard, anxious, questions Anwar.

RICHARD:

What did he say?

ANWAR:

He gives you his blessing.

RICHARD:

Thank you.

The sheik and the moukadem turn and exit the house.

80 INT. DENTIST'S OFFICE -- DAY

Chieko is sitting in the reception area, waiting her turn.

There is a woman with a twelve year-old son listening to a

walkman and an old couple.

The receptionist (50) will not stop talking to the old lady.

48.

RECEPTIONIST:

My niece sells these creams. And

just look at my skin now. I'm going

to turn fifty-two and look, almost

no wrinkles...

The woman continues her banal chatter. Chieko observes her

grotesque mouth. She then looks at the old man's bored face,

the old woman's feigned interest, the mother's annoyed

expression, and the boy, who rocks his head to the music.

A man walks out and the receptionist gestures at Chieko and

points toward the door.

81 INT. DENTIST'S OFFICE -- DAY

The dentist (47) - tall and, unlike the receptionist, with

impeccable skin covering his hardened, attractive face examines

Chieko's mouth. His face comes very close to hers

as he looks at her, making her nervous. The fat receptionist

walks in without knocking.

RECEPTIONIST:

Here are the sterilized drill bits.

The dentist looks up at her. She leaves the drill bits on a

table and leaves. The dentist turns back to Chieko and speaks

face to face with her so she can read his lips.

DENTIST:

I-think-you-have-two-cavities-in

your-molars.

She smiles. The dentist moves closer to Chieko's mouth again;

she cannot stop looking at him.

Suddenly, Chieko licks his cheek. He is surprised, but

continues his checkup. She licks him again, this time on the

lips. He pulls away, flustered.

DENTIST (CONT'D)

What are you doing?

She grabs his hand, puts it on her inner thigh and rubs it

against her pubis.

He, confused, tries to pull his hand away, but she prevents

him from doing so. The scene starts to turn slightly

grotesque. After a slight struggle, he pulls his hand back.

DENTIST (CONT'D)

What's the matter with you?

She grabs his hand again and, again, pulls it toward her

pubis. He gets angry and moves back. The fat woman enters

again without knocking, sees they are agitated and, without

a word, walks out and closes the door.

49.

The dentist turns toward Chieko.

DENTIST (CONT'D)

Get out.

She shakes her head. She is excited, anxious, scared,

fragile. He pulls her by her wrist out of the chair.

DENTIST (CONT'D)

Get out right now.

He walks to the door and opens it. Just before she walks

out, Chieko draws out a slight smile, which is almost a grin.

82 EXT. TOKYO STREETS -- DAY

Chieko walks down crowded Tokyo streets. She walks with a

lost gaze, unsettled.

83 EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING, TOKYO -- DAY

Chieko arrives at an upper class apartment complex. The

architecture is cutting edge, but impersonal and cold.

84 INT. LOBBY, TOKYO APARTMENT BUILDING -- DAY

Chieko enters the lobby. Beside the doorman are two men

dressed in suits: Kenji (31) and Hamano (50). The janitor

gestures at Chieko with his chin. The men walk over toward

her and cut her off.

HAMANO:

Are you Yasujiro Wataya's daughter?

Chieko doesn't manage to read his lips. She is silent. The

doorman notices the situation, walks out from behind his

small desk and shouts at the men.

DOORMAN:

She's deaf mute. Face her when you

speak so she can read your lips.

Kenji and Hamano are disconcerted. Hamano stands squarely

in front of her and speaks slowly, emphasizing every word.

HAMANO:

Are-you-Yasujiro-Wataya's-daughter?

She nods.

HAMANO (CONT'D)

We-are-sargeants-Kenji-Mamiya-and

Hamano-Kanoo-of-the-Tokyo-police.

We-need-to-find-your-father.

She pulls out a pen and a piece of paper from her bag. She

scrawls a few lines and hands them over.

50.

Hamano reads it and turns his face toward hers.

HAMANO (CONT'D)

No, he didn't do anything wrong. We

just want to talk to him. Do you

know where he is?

She shrugs her shoulders. Kenji gives her his card. Upon

receiving it, Chieko turns to look at him. Their eyes meet

and she looks down. She then looks up again, blushing.

KENJI:

Tell him to call us. And don't be

scared, we're not going to do anything

bad to him.

HAMANO:

Thank you.

Chieko can't stop staring at Kenji. The two cops leave. As

soon as they do, Chieko heads toward the elevator.

85 INT. CHIEKO'S APARTMENT -- DAY

Chieko walks into the apartment. It is a large apartment,

elegantly furnished. Although decoration is scant, some

hunting trophies stand out: a scimitar-horned Oryx, sheep,

and others. There are also photographs of Yasujiro hunting.

A wall is dedicated to family photos. Among them is a picture

of Chieko as a little girl with her father and her mother.

Chieko sees a note on the table at the entrance. She puts

the policeman's card down and picks up a note from her father

that says:
"I waited until five and you didn't make it.

I've got a meeting and I'll be back late. I left you some

soup and some chicken for dinner. Kisses. Papa."

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