Youth Page #4

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The sky beyond the high mountain peaks begins to brighten,

while the dew vanishes from the leaves of the garden’s

beautiful plants.

7. INT. FRED BALLINGER’S SUITE. DAY

Fred is on his stomach on a massage table. An eighteen-yearold

girl, incredibly timid, slight, with delicate features,

is giving Fred a massage.

Lena looks out the window and sees an Asian man sitting at

the far end of the garden.

LENA:

That guy who levitates is out

there.

FRED BALLINGER:

I’ve been coming here for years.

He’s never levitated. So, where is

it you decided to go?

LENA:

Polynesia. For two weeks. Julian

went overboard, as usual.

FRED BALLINGER:

Good.

LENA:

(smiling) You’ll be glad to have

the room all to yourself now. I was

in your way.

FRED BALLINGER:

Not at all. You kept me company.

Mick is working and I get bored.

LENA:

You won’t be bored now. I arranged

the full treatment for you.

(MORE)

15.

LENA (CONT'D)

Massage and sauna every day, checkups

with the doctor... to help you

get back in shape.

FRED BALLINGER:

At my age, getting back in shape is

merely a waste of time. I’m going

to be even more bored now.

LENA:

You’re a victim of your own apathy,

Daddy. Why don’t you go to Venice

one of these days? You could bring

flowers to Mummy.

Fred doesn’t answer.

The masseuse is very discreet, it’s as if she weren’t

listening.

LENA (CONT'D)

By the way, the French write to me

every day. They’re really insisting

that you write your memoirs. What

should I do?

FRED BALLINGER:

Let them insist.

Lena stares at her naked father being massaged. His body is

worn with age. A wave of tenderness washes across her face.

Sad now, she takes her leave.

LENA:

Bye, Daddy, I’ll call you when we

get there.

FRED BALLINGER:

Have fun.

Lena wheels her carry-on out of the room.

MASSEUSE:

(Swiss accent) Would you mind

turning over on your back, please?

Her voice is that of a young girl, which makes her even more

charming. Fred turns over, though not without difficulty. The

masseuse starts rubbing his arms.

His eyes are closed, but he opens one slightly, on the sly,

to look at the girl’s face.

16.

7A. INT. HOTEL.(VARIOUS SETTINGS). DAY

7A/1

The day begins at this enormous compound, which is at once a

hotel, a spa, a medical center, a sports complex, and a

physical rehab facility. With established rhythms and well-

defined schedules.

In fact, antique bells ring throughout the hotel, so that the

guests will not be late for their appointments.

7A/2 7A/3

Nurses and masseuses, all in uniform, emerge from sterile

changing rooms and head to their work stations.

7A/4

Doctors don white coats.

7A/5 7A/6 7A/7

The guests, most of them elderly, and all of them wearing

identical hotel bathrobes, form orderly lines and head to

their check-ups, or to the swimming pools, saunas, and

massage rooms.

The silent, serene, and sparsely attended activity of a world

just set in motion.

7A/8

The waiters, backlit, clear tables in the breakfast room.

7A/9

An anorexic cook heads out behind the kitchen. Enjoying the

first drag on his cigarette, he stares at the clear blue sky

above the mountains.

8. INT. MASSAGE ROOM. DAY

Soporific, new age music pervades the room.

In the darkness, relieved only by a sea of candles, Fred is

lying on an enormous straw crib, like an eighty-year-old baby

Jesus.

A little Thai man, about fifty, is placing burning black

stones on Fred’s body. Fred moans lightly in pain each time

one touches his skin.

The masseur smiles, then says in halting English.

MASSEUR:

After pain come pleasure.

FRED BALLINGER:

And then pain again.

17.

9. INT. HOTEL INFIRMARY. DAY

A nurse is drawing Fred’s blood.

A doctor, about sixty, comes in. He has a nice, kindly face.

DOCTOR:

How’s it going, Mr. Ballinger?

FRED BALLINGER:

It’s going. I don’t know where, but

it’s going.

The doctor smiles. Then he stops and looks at Fred’s face. He

puts his glasses on and examines Fred more attentively.

FRED BALLINGER (CONT’D)

My daughter says I’m apathetic. Is

it that obvious?

DOCTOR:

(smiles) Would you like to have

those sunspots removed? We could

take them off with a laser.

FRED BALLINGER:

No, why?

DOCTOR:

Because they’re unsightly.

FRED BALLINGER:

But they remind me of something

fundamental.

DOCTOR:

What?

FRED BALLINGER:

That my life is full of spots.

The doctor smiles. Fred smiles. The nurse has finished

drawing his blood. Fred looks out the window, which frames a

spotless mountain peak set against an unbelievably blue sky.

Fred is serious now.

10. INT. MICK BOYLE’S SUITE. DAY

The young screenwriters are in the middle of an argument.

Mick, immersed in a sea of papers, listens but doesn’t

intervene.

Fred comes in, but no one pays any attention to him. They’re

all too embroiled in their argument. So Fred listens

impartially.

18.

They’re all talking at once, it’s impossible to make out

everything they’re saying, but two of them, arguing fiercely,

are louder than the others.

Naturally, it’s the boy and the girl who, according to Mick,

are falling in love.

SCREENWRITER IN LOVE

You’ve been watching too many

movies, you idiot, you’ve forgotten

what life’s about!

FEMALE SCREENWRITER

Movies are life! All you know how

to do is criticize. If you only had

some inspiration for once.

He laughs and claps sarcastically.

A shy screenwriter, sitting next to Mick, comments under his

breath on their argument.

SHY SCREENWRITER

Exactly!

SCREENWRITER IN LOVE

Inspiration?! Didn’t they teach you

at film school that inspiration

doesn’t exist? Inspiration’s a lie.

There’s no such thing as

inspiration, only fermentation.

SHY SCREENWRITER

Exactly!

FEMALE SCREENWRITER

Inspiration exists, alright, you

just don’t recognize it, because

you have zero talent.

SHY SCREENWRITER

Exactly!

Mick, hearing the contradictory remarks coming from the shy

screenwriter sitting next to him, addresses him harshly.

MICK BOYLE:

What the f*** are you doing?

Agreeing with everyone?

SHY SCREENWRITER

Of course! I'm timid and insecure.

My parents never gave me any

encouragement. My brother's

favorite sport was beating me up.

My sister called me "the failure".

(MORE)

19.

SHY SCREENWRITER (CONT'D)

I've never had a girlfriend, and I

also have serious doubts about my

sexual orientation.

Mick stifles a laugh.

MICK BOYLE:

Stop it! You’re not going to move

me.

SHY SCREENWRITER

My aunt has polio.

Mick laughs.

SCREENWRITER IN LOVE

(furious) Don't you dare accuse me

of having no talent ever again, you

idiot.

FEMALE SCREENWRITER

Now’s not the time for

fermentation, you untalented

parasite.

MICK BOYLE:

That’s enough, you’re really

getting on my nerves. We have to

come up with an ending, and you’re

wasting time talking philosophy and

big ideas.

Fred joins in.

FRED BALLINGER:

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