Unbroken Page #13
ear. The room spins with pain and he goes down.
Louie slowly pulls himself upright. The Bird waits for him to
steady himself. He then does something surprising and offers
him tissue paper for his wound.
THE BIRD:
Better?
Is there compassion in this man?
THE BIRD (CONT’D)
Why do you make me hit you?
A sense of relief enters Louie’s mind just as the buckle,
whirling around from The Bird’s swinging arm, strikes his
head again, exactly where it hit before. Louie feels pain
bursting through his skull, the sound goes out and his body
going liquid. He smacks into the floor.
PRE-LAP VOICE FROM NEXT SCENE
You’re dead.
172 INT. CAMP OFFICE, OMORI - MORNING 172
A blur of confused vision. Unidentified voices.
In America they say, Zamperini
dead.
A blur of faces talking to him.
RADIO TOKYO MAN 1 (CONT’D)
They tell your family you died in
war.
Slowly the images resolve. Louie is sitting in The Bird’s
office, holding onto his bruised head. The two radio men are
wearing business suits, and seem unconcerned by Louie’s
condition. The Bird sits with them, equally unconcerned.
NBC Radio tell America, famous
Olympic runner Zamperini is dead.
The words sound familiar. Like the men at Kwajalien. Louie
takes in what they’re saying, but he doesn’t understand why.
He glances up at The Bird. He wants to kill him.
You want to tell family you are not
dead?
The Bird sees Louie’s confusion. He wants to be helpful.
THE BIRD:
These gentlemen, they are from
Radio Tokyo.
RADIO TOKYO MAN 2
We have program go all over world.
It is name ‘Postman Calls’.
The Bird cups a hand in front of his mouth as if talking to a
microphone, acting out what Louie can say.
THE BIRD:
Hello, Mother. Your son is calling
you. Mother, I love you. I am alive
and well.
Louie stares at him, not knowing whether to laugh or scream.
A174
EXT. OMORI BRIDGE - DAY A174
The car drives over the bridge heading for Tokyo.
174
EXT. RADIO TOKYO BUILDING - DAY 174
The car comes down the road to pull up by the Radio Tokyo
building.
LOUIE:
I’m only saying my own words.
RADIO TOKYO MAN 1
Of course!
93
JAPANESE PRODUCER/HOST (V.O.)
HELLO AMERICA...
175
INT. RADIO TOKYO STUDIO - DAY 175
MICROPHONE:
Louie tentatively sits into frame behind the mike. A
delicious fruit bowl has been placed on the table in front of
him. His mouth waters. He’s almost mesmerized by it.
From off we hear well-modulated Japanese speech. Louie
looks.
At another table, a Japanese RADIO HOST in a suit and slicked-
back hair speaks into his own microphone. Something in his
own speech amuses him and he interrupts himself with a
chuckle, and then plows on.
Louie looks around, still somewhat disoriented.
The man at the other table now switches to English:
JAPANESE RADIO HOST
This is ‘The Postman Calls’. Today
the Postman calls for Mrs Louise
Zamperini of, Torrance, California.
Louie Zamperini is not missing—and
not dead, as erroneously announced
by your government! He is safe and
sound with us! So keep on
listening, Mrs. Zamperini, and
don’t mention it; the pleasure is
all ours!
The man, smiling, now nods at Louie.
An interrogative look from Louie: me, now?
The man repeats his nod, more vigorously.
Louie leans cautiously in to his microphone. He begins
tentatively.
LOUIE:
Hello Mother and Father, sisters
and friends. This is your Louie
talking. This is the first time in
two years that you will have heard
my voice. I am uninjured and in
good health.
Louie closes his eyes and imagines his family receiving this
news.
176 EXT. SHIP AT NAVAL BASE, SAN DIEGO - EARLY MORNING 176
An ensign runs down the ship’s deck to Pete in uniform.
Pete takes the envelope and opens it to read the transcript
inside.
LOUIE ON RADIO V.O.
I am now interned in a Tokyo
prisoner of war camp, and am being
treated as well as can be expected
under wartime conditions.
Pete reacts to the news.
177 INT. RADIO TOKYO STUDIO - DAY 177
Louie continues.
LOUIE:
I hope Pete is still able to pay
you his weekly visits from San
Diego. Dad, keep my guns in good
condition so we can go hunting when
I get home. Get some good rabbits
for Mom’s gnocchi sauce.
178 OMITTED 178
179 INT. ZAMPERINI HOME, TORRANCE - NIGHT 179
Anthony, Louise, Sylvia and Virgina have heard the news. They
cry tears of joy.
180 INT. RADIO TOKYO STUDIO - DAINT. RADIO TOKYO STUDIO - DAY
180
Louie with his eyes still closed imagining his family.
LOUIE ON RADIO:
I wish you a merry Christmas and a
happy New Year. Your loving son,
Louie.
He opens his eyes.
181
INT. CAFETERIA, RADIO TOKYO - DAY 181
Louie is eating, eating like he’s never eaten before. The
Omori guards look on. The cafeteria is full of elegant
Japanese people. Mostly business men but a few very elegant
beautiful professional women as well.
The Radio Tokyo Men appear, and sit down with him, all
smiles.
RADIO TOKYO MAN 2
You were good. Very good.
They put a paper before him.
RADIO TOKYO MAN 2 (CONT’D)
You can speak on radio again.
Louie looks at the paper. Shakes his head.
LOUIE:
I can’t say this.
RADIO TOKYO MAN 1
Why not?
LOUIE:
It’s not true. I won’t. And what
you wrote about America... I won’t
say that.
We see a glimpse of defiant young Louie. It’s nice to see.
The two Radio Men look at each other. They know what to do.
THEY say that.
He gestures to across the room to a table of American men
sitting in the cafeteria. (It’s been a long time since we
have seen healthy Americans.) Louie can’t believe his eyes.
96
RADIO TOKYO MAN 1 (CONT’D)
American like you. They make
broadcasts. They live here, very
comfortable. Good food.
One of the POWs looks up and meets Louie’s eyes. He sees pure
anguish there. God knows what hell they’ve been through to
agree to this. The silent message they’re sending him is:
don’t do this.
They have lovely food.
Louie feels sick.
You want to go back to camp?
At the thought of returning to The Bird, Louie can hardly
speak.
LOUIE:
(softly)
No.
RADIO TOKYO MAN 1
You make broadcast?
Louie can hardly believe he’s making this decision. He looks
at the speech in the man’s hand.
182 OMIT
183 EXT. OMORI BARRACKS - LATE DAY 183
The gates open. A Guard walks Louie into the camp compound.
The men are lined up. He walks past them, terrified, toward
The Bird.
The guard turns him round to face the parade. A second Guard
ties Louie’s hands behind his back.
THE BIRD:
(softly)
You are like me. We are both
strong.
(MORE)
97
THE BIRD (CONT'D)
(beat) I saw it in your eyes, the
first day. I thought, this man will
be my friend. But...enemy of
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"Unbroken" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Dec. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/unbroken_576>.
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