The Big Blue Page #7

LAWRENCE tears off the sheet with the heartbeat measures

on it and hands it to JOHANA.

JOHANA feels she's on the verge of crying, and can't figure

it out.

UNDERWATER - JACQUES

JACQUES stops his machine by turning one of the handles.

He's deep beneath the surface of the frozen lake. He swims

deliberately, carefully into a large tube which is hinged

open. He closes it around himself. His heart is still

slowing down. He pushes a button on the machine, and a

flash of light bursts in the opaque night surrounding him.

BACK IN LAB - ON VIDEO SCREEN

We see a moving X-ray image.

LAWRENCE:

He's in the fluoroscope now. Listen

to his heart. Impressive, huh?

The flow of blood is concentrated

in the brain and doesn't even feed

the limbs anymore. It's a phenomena

that has only been observed with

dolphins... until now.

JOHANA:

How long can he stay down? Without

breathing?

LAWRENCE:

It depends. He should come up

soon.

(smiling)

Unless he's decided to stay for

the night.

JOHANA:

Why is he doing this?

LAWRENCE:

For one thing, it's his job... as

for the rest of it, I wish I knew.

JOHANA sighs with relief as JACQUES appears at the surface

in one big breath.

JOHANA:

Shouldn't somebody take him a

blanket or something?

LAWRENCE:

(smiling at Frank)

Coffee might be nice.

She heads towards the Old Peruvian and pours a cup of

coffee...

JOHANA:

(afterthought)

Will he understand Spanish?

LAWRENCE:

His mother's an American. He spent

half of his life in the states.

I'd try English if I were you.

EXT. DOCK - JACQUES SURFACING

He's groggy, half hypnotized. He looks up at the dock,

sees JOHANA with a cup of coffee. He stares at her. She

hands him the coffee.

JACQUES:

(puzzled)

I recognize you.

JOHANA:

We saw each other a little while

ago.

JACQUES:

(serious)

In the lake?

JOHANA:

(wondering whether

he is joking or

not)

No... in the hut.

After a long beat...

JACQUES:

(with a beautiful

smile)

Then it was somebody that looked a

lot like you... Thank you.

JACQUES then turns around and walks toward the huts.

JOHANA still hasn't moved, as if petrified by her emotions

and the severe cold. She then walks up to the hole in the

ice and peers into the dark water. She shudders.

INT. CABIN - DAWN

JOHANA emerges from a down sleeping bag. She's wearing a

big sweater and a wool hat. She is not sleeping.

Intrigued by the sound of the snowmobile, she gets up and

walks over to the frozen window. JACQUES and FRANK are

loading their luggage onto the snowmobile.

Outside, LAWRENCE is saying "Goodbye" to JACQUES. Unseen,

JOHANA also waves from behind her curtain. JACQUES senses

something:
he turns around toward the cabin and smiles,

waving his hand at JOHANA. She hides behind the curtain

and shyly waves back.

JACQUES gets into the snowmobile and drives out of the

frame. We are left with an endless array of snow-caped

mountains.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. COTE D'AZUR - DAY

Fixed image of the Cote d'Azur. The sparkling blue sea

fades into the distance.

A French taxi rides along the winding road overlooking the

creeks.

INT. - TAXI

From behind all his bags, JACQUES obsessively stares at

the sea.

The driver smiles.

DRIVER:

It's beautiful, isn't it?

JACQUES smiles.

DRIVER:

We had some bad wind this week.

The "Mistral"!! "Peuchere"! There

isn't one olive left on its tree.

It suddenly left us this morning...

I sure won't be the one to call it

back.

EXT. ANTIBES - ROAD TO MARINELAND

The taxi comes to a stop in front of Marineland. JACQUES

gets out, carrying one of his bags.

JACQUES:

(to the driver)

I'll only be five minutes.

He enters Marineland.

EXT. MARINELAND - ON JACQUES

The park is closed, the paths are deserted. JACQUES

approaches the Dolphin's tank. All three dolphins rise up

in the water. Greet him with a click and clatter of

tongues. JACQUES sits down at the edge of the tank.

JACQUES:

Good morning, everybody! Did you

sleep well? I slept in a plane,

and it wasn't too great.

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