Sins of the Father (an Hommage to the Night of the Hunter)

---

Who's he?

Wait at the bar.

This is no way to greet an old friend.

You've kept me waiting here for 2 weeks.

Christ! It's Paris! See the sights.

I'm here for work.

There's a lot of ground to cover.

Difficult terrain, remote, so...

...they want me to send someone

with you.

Two men is a security risk.

This is an important job.

There's no room for mistakes.

So don't make any!

It must be very nice, William,

not to need anyone.

The client is Red Leaf,

a military biotech.

They're after something

extremely rare.

You're to bring back

biological samples.

Blood, skin, hair, organs.

As for the rest, make sure

no one else can ever find it.

What Red Leaf wants

is very valuable.

But only if they have

exclusive ownership.

You're looking for something

most believe is extinct.

The rarest... most elusive

creature on the planet.

The client has evidence

it still exists.

If so, it may be the very

last one.

The client has reports from

a reliable source.

Two confirmed sightings...

in the past year.

Until now, these sightings

have been kept secret.

But word always

gets out.

We have only a

couple of months,

Maybe less.

After that, there will

be competition.

Perhaps there already is.

Hello.

Hey, what are you

doing?

You can't wake her up!

I'm Martin David, from

the university.

Hello, Martin David.

I'm Sass, he's

my brother Bike.

Mum said we should

show you to your room.

Come on.

- The bulb's burnt up.

- No.

No f***in' power.

Excuse me?

There's a generator.

But it's stopped working.

You gonna fix it?

I've got a lot of equipment.

I need power.

Yeah.

It used to work, then

it stopped.

Dad says the f***in' f*** is

completely f***ed.

Where's your father?

Gone away, up there.

He'll be back soon though.

He'll fix it if you can't.

There's water in the cold tap.

Oh... and the toilet's outside.

You right there mate?

Um, just need to use the restroom.

You wanna drink first?

Right.

Beer?

Sure.

How much to rent a room?

No vacancies.

Not even one small room?

All regulars, mate.

Live-ins.

I can pay double.

Pay triple if you want.

Same difference.

Hey, you!

Hey, you!

- Do you wanna room?

- Yeah.

Yeah.

Well you can't have one.

- You're from overseas, aren't you. Some uni.

- You gotta room? I can pay.

No.

The thing is, mate...

...we don't really like greenies

around here.

So, unless you wanna

join your mate...

Jarrah f***in' Armstrong...

f*** off!

- You're up, Dougie.

- Comin'.

I've arrived. The lodging is...

not what I expected.

The communication may be

a problem, so I'll

call when I have something

to report.

What's she singing about?

She sounds sad...

yelling like that.

She's not yelling.

Don't you ever listen to music?

Sure. My dad likes "The Boss".

Who?

"The Boss".

Bruce Springsteen.

He rocks!

You shouldn't come in here

without knocking.

Are you looking for my dad?

No, I'm researching

Tasmanian devils.

But if you see him, will you

tell him to come home?

I'll be up... twelve days, and then

I'll come back for

two days to resupply and

do my paper work.

If I'm not back Wednesday

next week...

Take this... when you go up.

You can keep it for a while.

He's my dad, and we gave him

that for his birthday.

That's what he looks like.

Okay.

Double four point three zero.

Those are my coordinates.

They're points on the map.

Now listen...

- When your mother wakes up... remember...

- I know. Twelve days.

Jack's here.

- Where are my soldiers?

- Jack!

Hello princess.

Hello mate.

Oh, there he is.

G'day. Jack Mindy.

Martin David. How's it going?

- How's the room? Alright?

- Yeah, it's fine thanks.

Any problems, you just let

me know. I'll sort it out.

Ah, it's a good spot for you here.

Quiet, convenient.

Now the blokes from the university

told me you needed a guide.

- Really?

- Yeah, I can take you up there, no worries...

- No, no, I wouldn't want to put you out...

- No, no, it's not a problem.

You get your stuff; you can follow me

in your truck. Alright?

Who were they?

Blockaders are greenies,

protesting the logging.

Jarrah started all that.

The children's father?

Jarrah, yeah.

Gotta lot of time for Jarrah,

he's a good bloke.

Eco warrior.

- Where is he now?

- He went missing last summer.

He was out doing his

university work and...

he never came back down.

Didn't the university tell you?

Different university.

Anyway, it was a bloody nightmare. The

search and rescue was out for two weeks.

Not a trace.

And his wife?

Lucy's not doing too good.

She's...

I do what I can to help.

Your rent money'll go

a long way.

This is all ear-marked for logging.

So... what is it you're studying?

Devils.

Dunno why. They're pests.

Still, makes a change.

From what?

Oh, we get a lot of tourists this way

looking for the Tassie Tiger.

Reckon they can take a bit

of a day-trip,

and find an animal that has been

written off as extinct.

What do you think?

I heard one once.

I was a kid, I was out trapping

with my dad.

Fifty years ago, but I

still remember it.

Every now and again, some clown

reckons he sees one but...

...no one can ever prove it.

It's not a Sunday stroll, out where

you want to go, Mr David...

...part of these highlands

never been mapped.

Got satellite maps, alright, but

doesn't mean anyone's ever been there.

What do you think happened

to Jarrah Armstrong?

He slipped, he fell...

broke a leg...

froze, starved...

then the devils got him.

Eat you alive if you give

'em a chance.

Odd, though, not to find

a trace.

Well, depends if anyone wanted

a trace left.

Made a few enemies, Jarrah.

He was a foreigner, like yourself.

Wanted to save the trees.

The logging trees's the only reason there's

any people here at all.

Or a town. So you can imagine when he arrived

a few years back he was about as popular

a snake in a sleeping bag.

Good Lord!

Good Lord indeed, Mr David.

Thank you Mr Mindy.

I'll take it from here.

You'll what?

I'd like to go on alone.

You sure? It's a...

Yes.

I'm sure.

Oh well, suit yourself. It's a...

I'll leave you to it, then.

See you in a couple of weeks.

And watch your step.

G'day.

You're back then.

- Get what you needed?

- Sort of.

See many devils?

Yes.

Sick or healthy?

Healthy.

Oh well, don't let me

stand in your way.

Just brought round

some supplies.

Your dinner's in the kitchen.

- Is that your father?

- Which? Oh yeah.

He did it.

- Why's he scratching his head?

- He's not.

He's looking for something.

But you'd never guess

what for.

A way out of here?

A tiger.

Really. A tiger?

What kind of tiger?

A Tasmanian tiger.

A Tasmanian tiger?

That's very interesting,

but you know...

- ...they don't exist.

- Do so!

- They're extinct.

- Oh, no!

My dad saw one

last summer.

It's a secret.

He must have told

somebody about it.

Somebody else, besides you.

Have other people seen it?

I don't know. Ask him.

Hey man.

I hear you're doin' some research up

on the plateaus, devils, right?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes