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Deep Resonance

Writer's picture: Peter K F Cheung SBSPeter K F Cheung SBS
  1. FADE IN.


  2. Act 1


  3. INT. SITTING ROOM - DAY


  4. PETER is checking his phone notifications.


  5. PETER (V.O.): Here's a question I like: What is your favourite "sleeper" film (ie little to no critical acclaim/box success) and why do you love it?


  6. Peter puts his hand on cheek.


  7. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Two movie closing scenes have been with me since the late 1960s.


  8. Pausing.


  9. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): One is the cliffhanger scene of the Italian Job (1969).

  10. DAYDREAM SEQUENCE OF PETER'S WATCHING THE FILM (1969)


  11. A. On screen, a gang unloads the gold they robbed from several Minis into a coach.


  12. B. As the coach is meandering the long and winding mountainous road from Italy into Switzerland, the driver loses control.


  13. C.We see the back of the coach is left teetering over a cliff and the gold slides towards the rear door.


  14. D. As a gang member attempts to reach the gold, it slips further. Other gang members are deeply worried.


  15. E. Then, the gang member said to them: I've a great idea". And right after that, we see: The End.


  16. F. Peter hangs on to his seat, not willing to leave the cinema.


  17. END DAYDREAM SEQUENCE.

  18. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But the Italian Job has become a classic. It wasn't a "sleeper" film.


  19. Pausing.

  20. Act 2


  21. INT. SITTING ROOM - CONTINUOUS


  22. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For the other one, I don't even know its English title. Its Chinese title is: 縱横四海, meaning "Across the Seas".


  23. Pausing.


  24. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It describes the various adventures of a team of diving enthusiasts, from the beginning to nearly the end.


  25. Recalling.


  26. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The only twist towards the end is that a team member has died due to a misadventure.


  27. Recalling.


  28. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The closing scene is that other team members bid their last farewell to the deceased by leaving her in the deep sea.


  29. Recalling.


  30. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It paints a very sad and depressing scene. The tragic ending isn't expected.


  31. Pausing.


  32. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Looking back, the film is structurally different. It has just the Act I (the Beginning) and Act II (the Challenge), which isn't explicit; and the movie ends at the dark-knight-of-the-soul scene. It hasn't got Act III (the resolution).


  33. Pausing.


  34. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The three-Act structure has been discerned as the hallmark of all successful commercial films.


  35. Pausing.


  36. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That explains why the movie has little to no critical acclaim/box success.


  37. Peter surfs the web.


  38. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I can find movies with the cliffhanger scenes including the Italian Job (1969). But there's no mention of the movie I've in mind.


  39. Pausing.


  40. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't think I love the movie, but it has enduring resonance in me.


  41. Pausing.


  42. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm just interested to know if the movie is simply an unstructured one, or an intentional artistic presentation.


  43. Peter puts his hand on cheek.


  44. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There's no way of knowing. Has the movie been dismissed by all, except me?


  45. Peter looks out of the window.

  46. Act 3


  47. INT. SITTING ROOM - CONTINUOUS


  48. Recalling.


  49. PETER (V.O.): In 1991, there's a Hong Kong action/crime movie bearing the same name. The movie hasn't got anything to do with the sea, but it has become a classic.


  50. Peter types his answer on his phone.


  51. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I answer the question to disclose my undisclosed feeling for the first time.


  52. Pausing.


  53. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A work will only have deep resonance if the kind of emotion it can generate is already in those who appreciate it.


  54. Pausing.


  55. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Living things first began in the sea and we all belong to it.


  56. Peter sees on his phone screen an upvote to his answer.


  57. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What's the upvoter?


  58. Peter taps the upvoter icon.


  59. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, the upvoter is a content editor. My work has some resonance.


  60. Peter looks content.


  61. FADE OUT.


  62. THE END


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