Unbroken Page #16

Synopsis: As a boy, Louis "Louie" Zamperini is always in trouble, but with the help of his older brother, he turns his life around and channels his energy into running, later qualifying for the 1936 Olympics. When World War II breaks out, Louie enlists in the military. After his plane crashes in the Pacific, he survives an incredible 47 days adrift in a raft, until his capture by the Japanese navy. Sent to a POW camp, Louie becomes the favorite target of a particularly cruel prison commander.
Production: Universal Pictures
  Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 29 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.2
Metacritic:
59
Rotten Tomatoes:
51%
PG-13
Year:
2014
137 min
$70,500,647
Website
4,804 Views


Louie feels his leg. He realizes what has happened. Knowing

he will never run the same again. HIS DREAMS ARE OVER. He

bows his head and weeps.

213

EXT. NAOETSU POW CAMP - DUSK 213

As the men return from work, ghosts covered in black coal,

The Bird watches Louie limp.

214

INT. NAOETSU BARRACKS - NIGHT 214

The men are quiet tonight. Louie most of all. He lay on his

bed with his ankle elevated on an old blanket.

TINKER:

Louie?

Louie doesn’t answer.

TINKER (CONT’D)

Louie? You alright?

Still nothing. Louie is dead inside.

215

EXT. NAOETSU POW CAMP - DAY 215

The sun beats down as the men work. The Bird watches Louie.

He watches him struggle and sweat. Finally, he watches him

sit and rest his leg. He rushes over.

THE BIRD:

Stand up! Stand up!

216 EXT. NAOETSU POW CAMP - DAY 216

The Bird leads Louie, out into the open compound, with Kono

in the rear. Tinker, Miller, Clift, Fitzgerald and the POWs

watch. Worried for Louie.

The Bird suddenly stops when he sees: A SIX FOOT LONG CHERRY

WOOD PLANK laying on the ground. He orders Louie.

THE BIRD:

Pick up! Lift high. Over your head.

You stand! You stand with this!

Lift high!

Louie leans down to the plank. Before he picks it up he

LOWERS HIS HEAD, FACE TOWARD THE GROUND AND BREATHES DEEPLY.

Just like he did before every race. He centers himself.

Barely able to keep himself up, Louie’s arms quiver as he

lifts the beam above his head.

THE BIRD (CONT’D)

(to Kono in Japanese)

If the prisoner lowers his arms,

shoot him.

The Bird walks to a nearby shack, climbs up on top of it’s

roof and sits to watch Louie. He is enjoying himself.

The sun blazes. Louie blisters in the heat, holding the

wooden beam above his head.

Tinker, Miller and the POWs watch from a distance. Helpless.

Louie is shaking. The plank is heavy.

Only hatred gives him strength.

Fitzgerald looks across at the camp clock. 3:15.

ON LOUIE - Sweating. His once athletic body now emaciated and

wounded; barely up to the task. UP TO THE BEAM - Wavering,

but not dropping.

ON THE BIRD - Smoking, smiling, watching.

POW’s are being prodded to keep working.

217

Minutes pass. FINALLY, SLOWLY, LOUIE LOOKS UP. 217

He looks at The Bird.

Fitzgerald reacts.

Close on Louie

After years under the cruel punishment of this man-- Louie

finally look directly at him. He sees him as if for the first

time. His eyes locked on the Bird’s face. The Bird meets his

stare. Defiant, Louie keeps the plank above him.

One by one the POW’s and Guards stop and stare.

218 MINUTES PASS-218

Louie feels the sun come across his face. He feels not the

heat but the warmth. THE LIGHT. He feels his own spirit rise.

He transcends.

Louie’s face changes before our eyes. Still looking at The

Bird, he can see through the monster. The Bird can feel it.

He is taken aback. Furious. He feels exposed. Human.

We remain close on Louie and The Bird through this deep

exchange.

All the men in the camp are watching.

Close on their faces. Louie’s fight is their own. They see

his strength and their spirits rise. Even Blackie begins to

smile.

WIDE - A space round where Louie stands in the sun, the beam

above his head.

The camp clock. 3:40.

The Bird is no longer smiling. His black eyes riveted on

Louie.

LOUIE HAS BROKEN THE BIRD.

219

Minutes later- on Louie - Eyelids drooping. Shuddering. 219

Still, he holds up the plank.

Louie’s eyes go in and out of focus. He sees:

The Bird can’t take it anymore.

Angry, he jumps down off the roof and charges towards him in

a fury. The Bird reaches Louie, who is still holding up the

beam. The Bird feels beaten.

114

He rams his fist into Louie’s stomach, causing Louie to fall,

dropping the beam on top of him.

The POWs are dumbfounded. No noise.

Long quiet.

The Bird smashes Louie with the kendo stick.

Many blows.

No sound except for the sound of the blows, and effort from

The Bird.

Louie is on the ground. The blows continue.

Quickly intercut: sun tracked through leaves.

Falling blows.

Longer intercuts of sun, a traveling shot, beginning now to

tip down to become a push along the road in Hawaii.

The Bird, spittle flying out, beating Louie. He begins to

kick.

Louie, kicked.

Running in Hawaii. Heavy breathing.

More beating. Heavy breathing continues—same sound, but now

it is The Bird, gasping as the beating continues.

Heavy breathing—a runner’s. We are pushing forward again in

Hawaii.

We push through a break in the foliage: we’ve reached the

ocean.

Warm sun. Pounding surf.

Panting.

The yard. Panting. From The Bird. A last kick.

High shot:
The Bird standing over Louie’s body, panting.

After a beat looking down at the body, The Bird seems to come

to a stop. He looks up from Louie to the crowd of Soldiers

and Guards, realizing where he is.

THE BIRD (CONT’D)

Prisoners to barracks. Now.

The Guards move the men.

220 OMITTED 220

115

221

EXT. YARD 221

High looking down.

Louie’s body in the mud.

223

OMITTED 223

116

224 EXT. NAOETSU BARRACKS - DAY 224

Close up-

KONO:

Keirei!

Something is noticeably different about Kono and the Guards.

They seem shaken. Less arrogant. Anxious.

Louie, Tinker, Fitzgerald and the hundreds of POWs have been

lined up as Kono makes an announcement.

KONO (CONT’D)

Prisoners of Naoetsu. The war has

come to a point of cessation.

They POWs remain silent, suspecting a trick. A suspicious

silence hangs in the air.

KONO (CONT’D)

Today, in the spirit of a new

future for our great nations, we

invite all Prisoners to bathe in

the Hokura River.

Louie and his group see: The Armed Guards open the gates and

wait to escort the POWs to the river. The Guards use their

rifles with bayonets to usher the men along.

TINKER:

(under his breath)

This is it. We’re dead.

Louie and the others believe Tinker is right. Most of the

POWs start to exit. The Guards usher Louie and his gang, who

have no choice. They are led towards the tunnel.

A225 EXT./INT. - TUNNEL - DAY A225

The men are being lead through the dark tunnel. Louie looks

at the faces of the other men.

225

EXT. HILL/RIVERBANK/HOKURA RIVER - DAY 225

A few POWs hiking down to the river, break from their lines,

begin taking off their clothes and running into the water.

Louie slowly peels off his clothing, as he watches:

The Guards standing with their guns. They look menacing at

the POWs in the river. Their hands gripping their rifles.

Louie wades into the river near Tinker and Fitzgerald.

POWs scattered throughout the river are bathing as the Guards

stand on the riverbank with their rifles. But little by

little, the POWs throughout the river start to question this

“gift of the river bath”. One by one, they stop scrubbing or

bathing...touching the arm of the POW next to them, to take

notice of the Guards standing with their rifles, staring at

them in the river.

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Joel Coen

Joel Coen was born on November 29, 1954 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA as Joel Daniel Coen. He is a producer and writer, known for No Country for Old Men (2007), The Big Lebowski (1998) and Fargo (1996). He has been married to Frances McDormand since April 1, 1984. They have one child. more…

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    "Unbroken" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Dec. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/unbroken_576>.

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