Unbroken Page #14

Japan... you do not listen. You do

not do what is asked of you...

The Bird then addresses the prisoners.

THE BIRD (CONT’D)

It is necessary to have respect. No

respect, no order.

He turns and points his stick at Louie.

THE BIRD (CONT’D)

This man must be taught respect.

All other prisoners teach him this

lesson. Each prisoner will punch

this man in his face.

Louie stares down the line: there’s 220 men out there. Then

he turns his gaze on The Bird.

FITZGERALD:

Sir, we can not do that.

The Bird screams an order to the guards who hold Fitzgerald

back. The Bird screams and points. Harris is pulled out of

the line up and brought to him. The Bird raises his stick and

strikes. Fitzgerald watches in horror. Harris can’t possibly

take anymore. Fitzgerald looks at Louie.

THE BIRD:

You! Punch him in the face!

Fitzgerald steps forward. Louie braces. The men understand

this is all they can do to save Harris. Fitzgerald punches

Louie.

The ENLISTED MAN comes to attention.

ENLISTED MAN:

Sir...

Louie, full of fear and adrenaline eggs him on.

LOUIE:

Do it! Come on! Get it over with.

He steps forward and hits Louie, pulling his punch. The Bird

shrieks with rage, striking him with his stick.

THE BIRD:

Hit hard! Again! Hard!

He hits Louie again, harder.

THE BIRD (CONT’D)

Next!

The next man takes his place. Hesitates.

LOUIE:

(screaming)

Come on!

THE BIRD:

Hard!

Another blow.

THE BIRD (CONT’D)

Next!

The next man, the next blow.

SOLDIER:

Sir...

LOUIE:

(yelling with a mouth full

of blood)

Do it! Come on!

Louie spits on the soldier. The Bird screams in Japanese.

Another fist in the face. And another. Miller. Tinker.

Blackie. The Bird’s mad passion drives them on.

THE BIRD:

Next! Next!

Every time he looks at Louie, there he is, gazing back at

him. His face has begun to bleed. His cheek split open.

THE BIRD (CONT’D)

Fist in the face. ‘Next!’ Fist in

the face. ‘Next!’

184

EXT. OMORI CAMP - LATER - TWILIGHT 184

THE SUN IS SETTING. The punishment continues.

Louie, face completely bloodied, gets punched and passes out.

The Bird orders the Guards to stand him up and revive him.

Louie, held up by the Guards, opens his eyes. The Bird

instructs the POW to punch Louie. With tears in his eyes, the

Enlisted POW hits Louie.

Now Louie is drooping. The guards have to pull his head up to

take the blows.

Fist in the face. ‘Next!’ Fist in the face. ‘Next!’

At last, Louie completely collapses. Through blood-dimmed

eyes he sees the Bird standing over him, stick raised.

The blow descends. Blackout.

186 EXT. OMORI BARRACKS - LATE DAY 186

Snow falls on the barracks. Months have passed

TWO POWs stand in the new fallen snow in stress positions.

The Bird stands over them.

190 EXT. OMORI BARRACKS - DAY 19EXT. OMORI BARRACKS - DAY 190

Close on Fitzgerald’s “shocked” face in make-up. Very

Fellini. Tinker is singing up a storm.

The soldiers are laughing.

We reveal they are watching the other soldiers performing

Cinderella in drag. Fitzgerald, Tinker and The Scots are

giving grand performances.

Japanese soldiers are also laughing.

Louie is in the back row in a dark mood.

Thinking of The Bird. His eyes wander to Kano’s gun.

The Bird begins passing out candies.

He walks up and sits next to Louie.

The Bird smiles at Louie as if they are simply two men at a

bar; as if they are friends. Louie feels like he’s in a

strange dream.

Harris is seated behind him. He is not the same since the

beating.

The Bird leans over and whispers in Louie’s ear. Louie

flinches, expecting to be hit.

THE BIRD:

I have good news.

The Bird knows he’s frightening him. He likes that.

THE BIRD (CONT’D)

I have had a promotion. That is the

good news. The bad news - I say

goodbye to my friends.

Louie looks at The Bird with disbelief. The Bird seems to be

genuine when he says they are “friends”. Silence. Then -

THE BIRD (CONT’D)

I leave Omori tomorrow.

He waits for the reaction, but nothing comes.

THE BIRD (CONT’D)

You may congratulate me.

Louie nods. The Bird smiles. The play goes on to the sounds

of escalating laughter.

191 EXT. OMORI - DAY 191

Snow falls. The men are lined up. The Bird is leaving.

Louie and the others watch The Bird standing at the gate with

a group of guards, shaking hands. The gates open, he walks

out and into a waiting truck. He is driven away. This monster

that brutalized is suddenly gone...

BLACKIE:

And there he goes. Just like that.

The Guards yell for the Enlisted Men to get to work.

102

192

INT. OMORI BARRACKS - THAT NIGHT 192

The Scots are laughing and playing (handmade) cards.

Louie lays in bed. Ready for the first good night of sleep in

a long while. The men have been given new blankets.

103

194

EXT. OMORI BARRACKS - NIGHT 194

Wide of the camp at night. Suddenly, the sound of bombers

closing in. Alarms sound and Guards run out of their

quarters.

195

INT. OMORI BARRACKS - NIGHT 195

A Guard runs in and yells for them to come out.

Louie and the others hurry outside

196

EXT. OMORI - NIGHT 196

The sky is swarming with the lights of hundreds of fighter

planes, American and Japanese. It’s an air battle, over Tokyo

itself.

The Guards come running, and shout at the prisoners.

We can hear the drone of airplanes, getting closer with the

continuing explosions.

197

EXT. BARRACKS, OMORI - NIGHT 197

Louie and the others climb up onto the barracks roof. Louie

gazes up Giant

bombers are flying past overhead.

TINKER:

B29s! Can’t be long now.

FITZGERALD:

I wouldn’t get too excited...

(knowingly)

(MORE)

FITZGERALD (CONT'D)

If the Allies win- the Japs issued

kill-all orders. I overheard them.

(Pause) We win, we’re dead.

ON LOUIE:
Struggling to figure a way out of this nightmare.

Bombs are landing close by.

One building bursts into flames. There is a smoldering

crater near it.

Two Guards are frantically working a pump, filling a bucket.

The POWs wander, looking up:

Silvery undersides of B29s heading for the city, raked by

searchlights, going through ghostly puffs of flak.

The Guards at the pump shout and gesticulate for Louie and

the other POWs to come help.

Out of the background pandemonium, a whistling noise grows.

Louie looks up, tries to place it. As it grows louder:

FITZGERALD (CONT’D)

Down! Down!

Close on Louie, hitting the deck, covering his head with his

arms.

A huge explosion shakes the earth. Phosphorescence. The

light fills the frame

200 INT. BARRACKS - DAWINT. BARRACKS - DAWN

200

CLOSE ON LOUIE:
His head down, his arms over his head.

Two hands come in and shake him awake. He turns over in his

bunk to see Fitzgerald.

FITZGERALD:

(to all)

Grab your kit! They’re moving us

out.

LOUIE:

To where?

FITZGERALD:

I don’t know, some new camp. Tokyo

Ritz.

Louie swings his legs out, sits up in his threadbare clothes,

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