CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE THE SHARYNGOL SYMPHONY A graduate project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting By Robert B Taylor December 2014 The graduate project of Robert B Taylor is approved: ______________________________________ ______________________ Professor Alexis Krasilovsky Date ______________________________________ _____________________ Professor Scott Sturgeon Date ______________________________________ _____________________ Professor Jared Rappaport, Chair Date California State University, Northridge ii This graduate project is dedicated to my wife, Juliet, without whose love, support and inspiration it would not have been written and who knows all about rewrite hell. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page ii Dedication iii Abstract v The Sharyngol Symphony 1 iv THE SHARYNGOL SYMPHONY: A GRADUATE PROJECT By Robert B Taylor When eighteen year old Zhao volunteers to join a re-education program during China's cultural revolution he is sent to Mongolia where he is rejected by the villagers and victimized by Re-education Officer Wu. But he rediscovers his love for music when Altant, a deaf village girl shows him a piano abandoned by Christian missionaries a century ago. He secretly, patiently rebuilds the piano and when he meets other young musicians also banned from playing Western music risks imprisonment by forming an underground orchestra in order to play the music they love. v FADE IN: EXT. MONGOLIAN STEPPES, VARIOUS - DAWN SUPERTITLE: Mongolian Steppes, 1968 Snow and ice on the vast, flat steppes. In the distance - mountains. A gentle breeze SOUGHS. The breeze picks up in the foothills of the mountains: snow FLURRIES. The wind WHISTLES down a valley. Giant conifers WHISPER in the breeze. Birds CHIRP in the branches. Ice floes CRACK in the water on a small lake. The breeze RUFFLES the water. The water LAPS against bullrushes. Water birds CRY. Water BURBLES over rocks in a stream. Fish PLOP out of the water. OVER: Sweeping SYMPHONIC MUSIC. EXT. SHARYNGOL VILLAGE, VARIOUS - DAWN The SYMPHONIC MUSIC continues. A dozen wooden shacks. A handful of yurts. A wooden village hall. A small wooden shack, more modern and professionally constructed, with the flag of the People's Republic of China FLAPPING. 1 Camels SNORT, horses WHINNY, Goats BLEAT in the animal corral. Chickens SQUAWK in a coop. A chain RATTLES against the wooden railing of the blacksmith's forge. A shutter CLATTERS in the breeze of the wood carver's workshop. Yurts FLAP and CREAK in the breeze. EXT. ZHAO'S YURT - DAWN One yurt is smaller, more dilapidated than the rest. It tilts. A loose animal hide CLAPS in the wind. INT. XHAO'S YURT - DAWN The symphony continues. ZHAO, 20, lies on the floor beneath blankets and animal skins. He listens to the symphony of sound and music he hears in his head. He shakes his head, forcing the music to stop. Silence, except for the wind and the flapping animal hide. He sits up. The yurt is a mess of crude cooking implements. A few packing trunks and suitcases. Clothes strewn about. Two other figures lie on the floor covered in blankets and animal skins. 2 Zhao rises, fully dressed against the cold. The trousers, shirt and sweater are dirty and torn in places, but are urban, almost Western in style. Zhao heads for the door. A family portrait of 6 year old Zhao, his mother in a gown and father, in a tuxedo, is tacked to the wall. A second photo of a smiling Zhao with his girlfriend, XU, holding a viola is tacked beside it. EXT. SHARYNGOL, REAR OF VILLAGE - DAY The sun rises. Four men GANBOLO, 45, the village chief, his son MONKHBAT, 22 the BLACKSMITH, 30 and the WOODCARVER, 25 - all dressed in traditional Mongolian costume - pee in the snow behind the yurts. Zhao, rugged up in animal skins trudges through the ice and snow. ZHAO Morning. The villagers nod indifferently and finish peeing. They nudge each other and deliberately watch Zhao trying to pee. Zhao self-consciously turns his back to them and finally manages to pee. The wind blows it back, showering him in pee. ZHAO Shit!! 3 The Mongolians burst into laughter. INT. ZHAO'S YURT - DAY Zhao prods one of the prone figures under the animal skins. ZHAO Wake up. It's your turn to get the water. GUAN (muffled, under skins) Fuck off! Zhao prods the other figure. ZHAO Oy! DENG (muffled, under skins) Fuck off. Zhao grits his teeth. EXT. GANBOLO'S HUT - DAY Ganbolo's wife, QORIN, 40, SHARPENS a hunting knife on a foot-pumped whetstone. The BLADE SCRAPES and sparks shower. 4 She hauls a chicken out of the cage at her feet. Zhao, a pair of water jugs on a pole across his shoulders, pauses and watches her. He looks hungrily at the chicken and lips his lips. Qorin lays the SQUAWKING chicken on a block and deftly decapitate it. Qorin is distracted when she sees Zhao and lets go of the chicken. The headless chicken charges toward Zhao. Zhao back pedals, holding out the water pole like a lance. The headless chicken keeps advancing. Zhao keeps back pedaling. Qorin chases the bird, cursing Zhao. She snatches it up, its neck pumping blood, its wings BEATING. She mutters at Zhao under her breath. Zhao nods apologetically. EXT. SHARYNGOL STREAM - DAY A dozen or so Sharyngol WOMEN fill their water jugs, and heave them onto their shoulder poles. Zhao arrives and smiles at the lovely ALTANT, 18, who helps fill the women's water jugs. She ignores him. ZHAO Good morning. The women ignore him. BAT-ERDENT, 60, wrinkled as a prune, the chief's mother and Altant's grandmother puffs on a pipe and lifts her water jugs. Zhao gallantly tries to help. She spills a little water and pushes his hand away. 5 ZHAO I'm only trying to - Zhao adjusts the pole. She curses and swats his hand away. ZHAO - help. Zhao watches the women head back for the village. Altant looks back at Zhao - eye contact, but inscrutable. INT. ZHAO YURT - DAY Guan and Deng watch Zhao stir the pot above the cooking fire. Zhao ladles clear soup into bowls and hands it to them. He hands them rice cakes. GUAN A week to go and then we're out of this shithole. DENG How long for you, Zhao? Two weeks? ZHAO Two weeks. They try to bite the rice cakes, but they're as hard as rock. Zhao SNAPS his rice cake across his knee. 6 INT. PARTY OFFICE, SHARYNGOL - DAY The one room shack/office is newly built but unadorned. Rough wood walls. A portrait of Chairman Mao gazes benevolently from the wall. Zhao sits opposite WU, 30, thin-bodied, thin-lipped, bespectacled - in another time and place he would have served the Spanish Inquisition. He wears the official Red Guard uniform of Mao shirt, cap and trousers. Wu's imposing henchman, FUNG, 25, also in Red Guard uniform, sits in a corner chair, scowling. WU This music - it's still in your head? Zhao considers. INT. CONSERVATORIUM AUDITORIUM - NIGHT BEGIN FLASHBACK: The AUDIENCE watches a tuxedoed Zhao play the Prokofiev on stage. A tuxedoed PEI, 20 handsome assured watches from the wings, ready to go on. Professor SUN, 65, patrician conducts and XU, female 18 plays viola with a small chamber orchestra. CHEN, 20, First Violin and BINGUN, 20, violin and CHEN 20, play. 7 Beads of sweat form on Zhao's brow. He frowns - he's losing it. Pei looks confident. Professor Sun looks puzzled. Zhao plays the crescendo. He rises and bows stiffly to the audience applause. Zhao strides offstage, past the sympathetic Xu and past Pei, who claps ironically. END FLASHBACK: INT. PARTY OFFICE, SHARYNGOL - DAY Zhao clears his head - back to reality. ZHAO No. No, not at all. Banished. WU That is very encouraging. ZHAO I'm very much looking forward to going home. A new man. WU You're not happy here? ZHAO 8 Oh, very happy. It's been a real education. A real re- education. WU I'm told you have trouble assimilating. ZHAO Who told you that? Wu won't reveal that, but Zhao knows. WU The villagers are your friends. They are free of the old ideas. You can learn much from them. ZHAO I have, Comrade Wu. So much. But now, I feel it's time to go back. To my friends, my life, my - Zhao bites his tongue. WU There's no going back, Zhao. The only way is forward. XHAO I've made so much progress. WU 9 Long may it continue. ZHAO Long? How long? WU I am responsible for your welfare, Zhao. ZHAO You can't keep me here. Fung allows himself a small smile. WU You don't want to be here? ZHAO How long? ... How long? Wu remains inscrutable. EXT. TRAIL - DAY Ice and snow as far as the eye can see. The Sharyngol men ride ponies and camels through the flurrying snow. Guan and Deng ride in a pony-drawn wagon, rugged up in animal skins against the cold. A dazed Zhao sits beside them. 10 EXT. FOREST - DAY The bigger, more muscular Deng and Guan lean on their axes while the slim Zhao, chops a giant tree with his axe. ZHA What did you tell Wu? Deng and Guan exchange glances. GUAN We hear you humming. When you think no one's listening. ZHAO Humming? You reported me for humming? Zhao slams the tree with his axe. DENG It sounded bourgeois. ZHAO Bourgeois? My humming sounded bourgeois? Zhao hammers the tree with his axe. The tree CREAKS. Zhao swings mightily with his axe.