THE BIG BLUE
Screenplay by
Luc Besson, Bob Garland, Marylin Golden.
"God is at the bottom of the sea and I dive to find him."
ENZO MAIORCA
Final Draft, 1988
FADE IN:
EXT. GREEK ISLAND - SUNSET
CREDIT SEQUENCE:
The image is in black and white.
The sun disappears behind arid cliffs which cast giant
shadows on the sea.
A little boy around 8 years old -- tanned from head to toe
SPRINTS ALONG THE CLIFFS, SCRAMBLES FROM ONE ROCK TO
another with amazing agility.
In one hand, he carries a transparent plastic bag. In the
other, a net bag containing flippers, mask, pants and
sweater.
The only thing that slows him down is his bathing suit --
obvious hand-me-downs -- way too big. He tugs on them as
he goes, holding them up... Until they slide again... as
he leaps again... and pulls them up...
The little boy is JACQUES MAYOL.
End credits.
EXT. GREEK ISLAND - SUNSET
JACQUES reaches a ledge jutting out over a deserted cove.
He spits in his mask... expertly spreads the spit with a
finger... locks his feet into the flippers... and dives.
He surfaces a long way out... adjusts his mask... and swims
away from shore.
IN OPEN SEA
The boy stops swimming -- starts to gulp air -- sucks it
in -- oxygenating his blood in a series of deep rapid
breaths -- almost hyperventilating, almost alarming if
we've never seen this before.
His gaze is glued to the ocean floor. Clear clear water.
40 feet deep. And intensely blue.
Suddenly, he catches his breath and dives -- into the blue.
UNDERWATER
JACQUES touches bottom. Clamps his legs around a rock to
hold himself down. Unhurried, thoroughly at home, 40 feet
under... he opens the plastic bag. A huge speckled moray
eel appears in a hole in the rock, slithers toward him.
The carnivore's jaws are bigger than the boy's head.
The boy smiles at him. Pulls a piece of raw meat out of
his bag and holds it out. The eel takes the morsel
delicately -- and slithers back into his hole.
Gravely, JACQUES takes another morsel out of the bag.
EXT. VILLAGE - DUSK
JACQUES walks up a steep road bordering the port, almost
dry now.
Two boys about his age run up the streets; call out, catch
up with him and gesture toward the port.
THE BOYS
Jacques! Come quick!
EXT. PIER - DUSK
The little boys tug JACQUES to the end of the pier and
point to something in the water.
BOYS
Look! Right there! It's shining!
JACQUES walks over, and sure enough sees something shining
a few feet down in the water.
JACQUES
(squinting)
A coin.
FIRST BOY
I found it.
SECOND BOY
Liar!
Camera pans and we see a middle-aged PRIEST loading supplies
into a small boat. He stops to watch the children's
negotiations. Little JACQUES is putting his flippers on.
JACQUES
Ok. I'll get it, but no fighting,
all right?
The two boys nod as they point to the coin.
JACQUES
We'll split it.
FIRST BOY
You can't split a coin. That's
stupid.
SECOND BOY
He's right. You're stupid.
The pope smiles.
JACQUES
Then we'll buy something and split
that.
SECOND BOY
A helicopter...
JACQUES
It's a small coin.
FIRST BOY
A Ferrari.
SECOND BOY
I don't want a Ferrari... What is
it?
JACQUES
(interrupting them)
Maybe a little radio.
The two boys look at each other.
JACQUES
Well. We'll decide later. The
light is going.
SECOND BOY
I get the radio from after school,
until midnight.
FIRST BOY
Since when do you stay up until
midnight?
JACQUES
All right, all right... Can I
concentrate? And you can stop
pointing. I've seen it.
VOICE (O.S.)
I've seen it too.
The voice is ENZO'S. Another young boy wearing little
round glasses.
FIRST BOY
(annoyed)
Shit, it's the Italian!
He is slightly older than JACQUES but he is taller. ENZO
is with ROBERTO, his younger brother, the only one allowed
to carry his flippers. Five kids are behind him.
ENZO
Well, if it isn't the little
Frenchman! How is the little
Frenchman?
JACQUES
(cool)
Fine!
ENZO pats JACQUES on the shoulder and leaves his hand there --
a lightly intimidating gesture.
ENZO
You don't mind if I go instead, do
you?
JACQUES
(intimidated, and
pretending not to
be)
No...
ENZO
If you did mind, you'd tell me,
wouldn't you?
ENZO pats his shoulder reassuringly.
ENZO
(to his brother)
Roberto, mio palmo!
ROBERTO who has already started to moisten his big brother's
gear in the water, holds a pair of dripping flippers and a
glistening mask. The pope watches the scene with obvious
pleasure.
ENZO
(to his brother on
the edge of the
pier)
Count!
Sure of himself, ENZO takes a deep breath and dives in the
water. ROBERTO counts out loud.
ROBERTO
The kids all walk over to the edge of the pier. A few
feet away, JACQUES takes off his flippers. ENZO bursts
out of the water, the coin in his hand. The children cheer
and clap. ROBERTO rushes to catch the equipment that comes
flying at him, piece by piece.
ENZO walks over to JACQUES.
ENZO
(showing him the
coin)
Who's is it now? You saw it but I
dove for it!
JACQUES doesn't answer.
ENZO smiles and slowly puts the coin in his pocket. He
pulls it out again and waves it under JACQUES' nose.
ENZO
(without turning
around)
Roberto? How long?
ROBERTO
Six seconds.
ENZO looks at JACQUES for a while.
ENZO
I'll throw it back into the water.
You dive and if you do less than six, it's yours.
JACQUES doesn't say anything, then finally shakes his head,
negatively. ENZO smiles, taps him on the shoulder.
ENZO
Brava!
The first boy finally sums up his courage to speak.
BOY
(timidly)
Enzo? I saw the coin first... We
split?
ENZO
(smiling)
You can't split a coin, stupid.
ENZO laughing, sticks the coin in his pocket and leaves
the pier with his gang.
The pope smiles and pulls a coin from his pocket.
With his flippers dangling from one hand, JACQUES sadly
stares out at the sea. The pope calls him over.
PRIEST
Jacques... Come, look.
JACQUES goes over to him, sees where he is pointing, the
faint gleam of the coin underwater.
PRIEST
Is it a coin shining down there?
JACQUES
(overjoyed)
It is. It's a coin! I'll get it
for you, Father!
PRIEST
It'll be for the poor.
JACQUES, intent on the coin's glimmer, quickly slips on
his fins, prepares his mask. He swims in the water like a
fish, goes directly to the coin. Scoops it up, brings it
to the surface.
He breaks water, waves the coin, looks for the priest and
sees he is no longer there.
JACQUES
Padre?
He looks at the ancient impression on the coin -- "Boy on
a Dolphin".
DISSOLVE TO:
ON JACQUES - UNDERWATER
He's swimming near the spot where he fed the moray eel.
He senses something behind him and turns around. He sees
a dolphin, still and silent, floating vertically. It seems
to be watching him. The surprise is such that JACQUES is
in a panic, leaps up to the surface...
ON JACQUES - IN BED
He bolts upright, as if suddenly awakening from a dream.
INT. ROOM - ON JACQUES' FATHER - DARK
A BURLY MAN, around fifty, crosses the room in the shadows
and throws open the shutters with a bang. Sunlight pours
in. He walks over to JACQUES' bed in the one room house,
and runs his hand through his hair.
FATHER
(with a smile)
... Come on, time to get up,
Jacques!
JACQUES rubs his eyes. His father walks over to a pile of
blankets on the floor, on the other side of the room. He
gives the pile a kick.
FATHER
(screaming at the
top of his lungs)
Louis, wake up!
He uncovers a kettle on the fire and ladles up a big bowl
of soup for Jacques. A fifty year old man pokes his head
out from under the pile of blankets. It's UNCLE LOUIS,
who is having a very hard time, waking up.
EXT. HOUSE - DAY
JACQUES bursts out of the house, running. Diving gear
under his arm. A piece of buttered bread in his mouth.
He catches up with his father and UNCLE LOUIS. They're on
a path winding down to the port. JACQUES slows down
abruptly. Tries to imitate their stride. The weather is
balmy and the sea lies before them, peaceful and blue.
EXT. SEA - DAY
Their boat on the water. The chug of its ENGINE ECHOES
off the cliffs. A few gulls -- drawn by the sound -- skim
the waves of its wake.
EXT. BOAT - DAY
On board. JACQUES' Father checks the antique air pump.
JACQUES polishes the enormous copper diver's helmet and
lays out the rest of an old fashioned deep sea diver's
suit.
At the foot of an old monastery another boat passes.
The Priest is in it.
JACQUES' Father and LOUIS take off their caps. JACQUES
takes the gold coin out of his pocket.
The pope nods to JACQUES. His father looks over at him
without understanding. The child quickly puts the coin
back in his pocket.
EXT. BOAT - DAY
LOUIS casts anchor. A few feet away, siting on a rock,
the kid with little round glasses is fishing. He turns
around to the boat. JACQUES smiles and waves at him.
ENZO waves back, obviously disturbed in his fishing session.
FATHER
Jacques, come help me.
JACQUES helps his father into the diver's suit. The burly
man struggles into a pair of weighted lead shoes. He seems
sluggish and tired. JACQUES watches worriedly. He has a
weird feeling.
JACQUES
You shouldn't dive everyday, Papa.
UNCLE LOUIS
Then you shouldn't eat everyday,
Jacques.
His father catches him fondly by the scruff of the neck.
FATHER
(winks at him)
Don't worry. When I'm tired down
there, the mermaids help me out.
Father and son smile at each other. Then his father puts
the helmet on. JACQUES joins LOUIS at the pump.
The heavy diver's suit disappears slowly underwater. The
gleaming copper helmet is the last thing to slide out of
sight.
JACQUES and LOUIS work the pump. Regular, steady motions
to maintain the flow of air.
UNCLE LOUIS
(to Jacques)
Hey! Have you ever seen a mermaid?
JACQUES
No.
They keep on pumping for a while, then...
UNCLE LOUIS
I've seen them.
UNCLE LOUIS goes on. JACQUES doesn't budge.
UNCLE LOUIS
Don't you want to know where?
JACQUES looks at the bottom to watch his father.
He doesn't answer.
UNDERWATER - JACQUES' FATHER
He moves along slowly in his cumbersome diving suit. He
is working the top of a rock outcrop on the sea floor. He
sees a sponge, hooks it; puts it in a bag that's attached
to a life line from the boat fastened to his waist. He
moves on.
INT. BOAT - JACQUES AND LOUIS PUMPING
They keep up the rhythm. Sitting on a rock at a distance,
ENZO watches them. UNCLE LOUIS is bored stiff.
UNCLE LOUIS
Why don't you ask me?
JACQUES
What?
UNCLE LOUIS
Where I saw the mermaids?! Why
don't you ever ask any question?
I'm always the one asking the
question! We're sitting here like
two stones and I'm taking to myself.
Ask me something, Goddamnit!
JACQUES calmly looks over at him, slows down his pumping
and almost serenely asks him:
JACQUES
(in a completely
flat tone)
Why did my mother leave?
UNCLE LOUIS seems disturbed by the question. A beat.
UNCLE LOUIS
(ill at ease)
Come on now, pump!
UNDERWATER - JACQUES' FATHER
He is walking with difficulty at the bottom. His bag is
full of sponges. He seems to be having trouble breathing.
EXT. BOAT - JACQUES AND LOUIS
JACQUES and LOUIS are pumping silently. UNCLE LOUIS feels
obliged to answer JACQUES' question.
UNCLE LOUIS finally breaks the silence and explains:
UNCLE LOUIS
Your mother didn't leave. She
went back to America, that's all.
It's her home. She's allergic to
this Island. She likes
refrigerators and machines that
clean the floor... so one day she
left. Woman are like that,
unpredictable, like the sea.
They haven't been paying attention to the bubbles gushing
at the surface. The air hose is being pulled down in a
very worrisome way.
JACQUES
(with a slight grin)
So where did you see mermaids?
UNCLE LOUIS smiles.
UNCLE LOUIS
In the bars in Athens!
Very pleased with himself, UNCLE LOUIS burst out laughing.
JACQUES shyly shrugs his shoulders. The air hose is
suddenly yanked down. JACQUES immediately sees all the
bubbles. He is white as a sheet.
JACQUES rushes to the side of the boat and starts yelling
down at his father. He grabs the life line and starts
pulling at it hysterically. The air hose snaps and starts
flying around like some crazy snake. JACQUES tries to
jump overboard. UNCLE LOUIS catches hold of his foot at
the last second. JACQUES is slapping the water with his
hands, trying to go down but UNCLE LOUIS won't let him.
JACQUES is yelling desperately. ENZO is now standing on
his rock, watching the scene, horrified.
The sea now looks as if it were boiling.
UNCLE LOUIS grabs hold of JACQUES and hugs him in his arms.
Standing on his rock, ENZO is now crying desperately.
ENZO
(screaming)
Jacques! Jacques!
The last air bubbles are now breaking on the surface; it
looks as if they will never stop.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. ITALIAN VILLAGE STREET - DAY
The image is now in color.
A rocky pink cliff over looks the very bright sea which
fills the screen.
SUPERIMPOSED: 1987 SICILY
ALFREDO runs (skips) up the cobbled street as fast as he
can go, surprisingly fast.
He runs to the large terrace of a restaurant which he
enters. We have time to read the sign carrying the
restaurant's name: "LA MAMMA".
INT. RESTAURANT - DAY
ALFREDO skips in. He is panting, covered in sweat. His
panic is palpable. The whole room watches him approach a
long table where a large family is having a birthday party
for a very old lady.
He has to stop a second and catch his breath before he can
get the words out. Then leans over and whispers in the
ear of a great big man -- around 30 -- built like a bull,
wearing little round glasses.
The man listens, then stiffens.
EXT. HARBOR - CONSTRUCTION SITE - DAY
A beat-up FIAT, towing an equally beat-up trailer, stops.
ENZO unfolds out of the driver's seat, like a circus clown
emerging from a toy car.
The construction SUPERVISOR, an American, wearing a three
piece suit, hurries over to him.
ENZO has already started undressing. ROBERTO unloads the
diving gear from the trailer.
SUPERVISOR
(exhausted)
Signore Molinari?
ROBERTO
(shaking his hand)
Yes.
ENZO
(calmly undressing,
expressionless)
How did it happen?
SUPERVISOR
(upset)
The company asked me to extract
everything I could from the wreck;
so the divers were trying to get
at the engine... and then the boat
turned over... in the current...
and... look, I fucked up! Can you
help?
ENZO
How many are, down there?
ENZO goes back to the car.
SUPERVISOR
Just one... We're feeding him air,
but he's not breathing regularly...
You've got to get him out fast.
ENZO glances at the map, then at the accident site.
ENZO
(a beat)
Ten thousand.
SUPERVISOR
Lira?
ENZO
Dollars.
SUPERVISOR
You're going to hold me up at a
time like this?
ROBERTO
You do understand you're talking
to the champion diver of the world?
SUPERVISOR
Yes, but ten thousand dollars...
ENZO opens the trunk of his FIAT and pulls out the jack.
He slams the trunk shut, and stands looking at the American,
straight in the eyes.
ENZO
Okay. You tell me. How much would
you say the man's life is worth?
Extremely uncomfortable, the SUPERVISOR doesn't answer.
ENZO
In my village, we have a saying:
when the wind blows, the flags of
all nations flap in the same
direction.
SUPERVISOR
(baffled)
What does that mean?
ROBERTO
That you should get your checkbook.
Damn quick.
EXT. UNFINISHED PIER - ENZO
He's at the end of the pier, his feet dangling in the muddy
water of the port. A few feet away a pump sends air HISSING
through a rubber tube to the diver trapped below.
ENZO inhales steadily, his chest heaving like a bellow.
He carefully puts his spectacles inside his shoes, dons
his flippers, etc., with his usual flair of suspense.
Behind him the SUPERVISOR and other construction workers
watch expectantly. ROBERTO heaves a stone weight into the
bay, a cable attached to it plays out from a drum on the
pier.
ENZO ignoring everyone, grabs the ordinary tire jack, flip-
flops over to the now taut cable, the stone has hit bottom.
He takes a deep breath and dives into the bay.
UNDERWATER - WRECK
ENZO dives down a chimney of muck. Picks his way over and
around every hazard, until he reaches the diver, trapped
under a huge piece of debris.
He pats his shoulder to comfort him, he then inserts the
tire jack under a piece of concrete... And, as if he were
changing a tire, begins to pump the handle...
Slowly, in a swirl of mud and water, the chunk of debris
rises off the diver's leg.
EXT. CONSTRUCTION SITE - DAY
Everyone is staring at the water silently, suspensefully.
The SUPERVISOR has his checkbook in hand, but has completely
forgotten it, intent upon what's going on underwater.
ROBERTO taps him on the shoulder.
ROBERTO
Since we have a little time, what
do you say you write that check?
UNDERWATER - WRECK
ENZO cuts the cables tangled around the diver's torso.
Then he takes off his flippers, plants his bare feet on
the concrete, grabs the diver by the shoulders and pulls
him free.
The diver drops the air tube and climbs as quickly as
possible toward the surface.
EXT. CONSTRUCTION SITE - DAY
The diver surfaces, gasping for breath. A cheer goes up
from the crowd. Several men hurry to pull him onto dry
land. But there is no sign of ENZO. Everyone waits,
breathless.
ROBERTO
(to the Supervisor)
Sign here.
Suddenly, ENZO appears, burst out of the water, holding
his flippers up in the air like a trophy. The onlookers
cheer, help him out of the water, slapping him on the back.
ENZO tosses the jack and his flippers to ROBERTO.
Impassive and silent, he slips his arms into the prize
fighter's robe that ROBERTO holds out for him, walks
solemnly back to his car.
ROBERTO takes the check and walks over to the car. ENZO
bends down into the car and opens the roof.
SUPERVISOR
(through the open
roof smiling)
Thanks, thanks a lot. I mean that
too... You extortionist bastard!
The car rushes off. In the distance we see a police
(carabinieri) car and an old fire engine rolling in the
direction of the construction site.
INSIDE FIAT - DRIVING AWAY
ENZO'S car drives past them. ENZO looks at ROBERTO out of
the corner of his eye, then suddenly explodes with joy.
ENZO
Dollars, Roberto! We took him for
ten thousand dollars!
ROBERTO whoops and whistles. ENZO reaches over and leans
on the horn. The little car races by and finally stops at
the top of the cliff facing the sea.
EXT. TOP OF CLIFF - DAY
The two brothers sit back, relax.
Stare out to sea.
ROBERTO
(after a while)
Enzo, what are you going to do
with the money?
ENZO
Have the car painted.
ROBERTO
Santini will do that for 25 dollars!
ENZO
Then tell him to wax it too.
ROBERTO
Enzo, really. What are you going
to get?
ENZO
(thinking)
A rosary for Mama, a dress for
ANGELICA, SOMETHING WITH RHINE-
stones for what's her name, and get yourself a suit that
fits... But most important...
ROBERTO
Yes?
ENZO
Find the Frenchman. Find me Mayol.
EXT. FLAKES OF SNOW - MOUNTAINS - DAY
Mountain peaks, stark and white. A winter sky which is
strangely and disquietingly dark. A landscape swept by
snow.
SUPERIMPOSED ON SCREEN: PERU - LAKE HUACRACOCHA - MAY 1987
A yellow light comes out of the storm -- advances toward
us. The headlight of a train.
A narrow gauge locomotive steams up grade pushing piles of
snow in front of it.
INT. TRAIN - DAY
Sitting in the train, leaning against the misty window,
JOHANA CROSS, 27, has clear quick charm and a sort of
romantic fragility. She is dressed simply but warmly.
She looks through the window; all she sees is white.
It is clear that she was not the one who decided on this
trip. Reading the key phrases from a beat-up note book,
she calls upon an old Peruvian.
JOHANA
(in Spanish)
Is this the Lago del Demonio?
(Es bien aqui el
Lago del Demonio)
... Huacracocha?
The old man goes into a long, rambling explanation.
JOHANA nods without understanding a thing.
JOHANA
Gracias.
OLD MAN
You welcome.
EXT. TRAIN STATION - DAY
The train pulls in, slowly pushing piles of snow in front
of it and finally stops in front of an old shack which
serves as the station.
A man, FRANK, bundled in a parka, comes out of a snowmobile
parked by the station, and walks up to the train.
JOHANA steps down, carrying her suitcase and drops two
feet in the snow as she comes off the last step. FRANK
walks over and leans down towards her.
FRANK
(smiling)
Welcome to Peru!
INT. SNOWMOBILE - DAY
FRANK throws the luggage into the back of the snowmobile,
jumps in and turns the ignition on. JOHANA takes her hat,
scarf and gloves off. FRANK glances over at her, he is
both amused and charmed.
JOHANA
Don't you have a heater?
FRANK
(hitting at the
dashboard)
Yeah... Sure... Is this your first
trip to Peru?
JOHANA
Does anybody live to make a second?
FRANK smiles and kicks the heating system, then leans over
to check it, his eyes off the road.
JOHANA
(a little worried)
Forget about the heater!
EXT. LAKE OF THE DEMON - CAMP - DAY
The storm is at its peak. The frozen snowmobile plows
along side the lake HUACRACOCHA and stops in front of a
cluster of quonset huts almost completely buried in snow.
FRANK gets the bags out of the back. The suitcases are by
now frozen stiff. JOHANA follows in his steps.
A couple of llamas are huddled up against the hut in attempt
to protect themselves from the storm.
JOHANA is bewildered. Shacks in the middle of the Andes,
the lake of the "Demon", and now llama that have to be
pushed aside to enter one's home.
As FRANK opens the door, a man is leaving the hut. The
man is JACQUES MAYOL. JOHANA and JACQUES pass each other
in slow motion. Everything seems suddenly suspended: time,
sound, cold...
JACQUES MAYOL instantly makes an impression on her. He is
now 34, still dark-haired, with dark eyes. He is wearing
a red diving suit and a pair of round goggles. He looks
like some legendary creature one would dream about.
Everything finally regains its formal speed. The door
slams, the man is gone. She and FRANK are in the middle
of the entrance hall. JOHANA hasn't yet gotten over the
vision she has just had, but she regains composure and
enters the next room.
INT. QUONSET HUT
JOHANA happily takes her gloves off.
FRANK puts down the bags and walks into the next room.
It's a sort of laboratory, filled with ultra modern
equipment.
A big bay window overlooks the lake on which is built a
long wooden dock.
Sitting in a corner, an old Peruvian man is preparing hot
drinks. JOHANA drops into a chair.
FRANK
A drink to warm up?
JOHANA
Yes, thank you. Intravenous if
possible.
FRANK
(pulling out a flask)
Tea... or whiskey?
JOHANA
... both. Did I just see a man in
a red suit and goggles?
FRANK smiles and pours some whiskey in her tea cup.
FRANK
... right.
(calling out)
Dr. Lawrence? The insurance man...
uh... The insurance person is here!
LAWRENCE
It's about time!
FRANK smiles and pours JOHANA some tea. She warms her
hands on the cup. She asks blankly.
JOHANA
Would it be out of place to ask
what he's doing?
FRANK
Who?
JOHANA
The guy in the Halloween suit!
LAWRENCE comes in from the other side of the room.
He walks straight over to the bay window.
LAWRENCE
Did you have a nice trip? We were
getting restless, it's been three
weeks since the accident.
JOHANA walks over to the bay window and starts staring at
something in the distance.
EXT. DOCK - ON JACQUES
At the end of the dock, JACQUES who is sitting on the edge
of a hole which is cut in the ice, is putting a pair of
gloves on. He then grabs the handles of a strange machine
which emerges from the water and starts taking deep breaths,
oblivious to the cold, his mind completely elsewhere.
BACK IN LAB
JOHANA watches JACQUES. She just
can't believe her eyes.
LAWRENCE is bent over one of his machines, fiddling with
different switches.
LAWRENCE
(to Johana)
You should get things moving, you
know. We're out of equipment and
we
can't do half of our experiments...!
Frank, check the program!
JOHANA is finally able to speak.
JOHANA
Who... Who is that?
LAWRENCE
Mayol... Jacques Mayol.
JOHANA
That's the experiment? Dumping a
guy into a frozen lake?
LAWRENCE turns one last knob.
LAWRENCE
... The truck fell into a very
deep crevasse. We weren't able to
save the equipment.
JOHANA
I'll have to talk to the driver.
LAWRENCE
In the spring when he melts!
JOHANA walks closer to the window. She isn't hearing a
thing he's saying.
JACQUES is putting on his flippers.
JOHANA can't believe it.
JACQUES is standing by a hole cut in the ice. He is holding
onto the machine in the water. He is waving a mask.
JOHANA
(dumbfounded)
You really send him under the ice?
He isn't a slave or a convict or anything?
LAWRENCE
My dear, science is a cruel
mistress.
JOHANA
But... how is he going to breathe?
LAWRENCE
He isn't going to breathe.
JACQUES takes a deep breath, turns a handle and a weight
yanks him straight down into the water. LAWRENCE sets his
stop watch off and flips a few switches.
JOHANA grabs his arm as if they could do something about
it.
LAWRENCE
Listen...
He raises the volume: we hear the man's heartbeat through
a small speaker.
LAWRENCE
That's his heartbeat.
(excited)
Can you hear the speed at which
it's slowing down, it's incredible.
LAWRENCE tears off the sheet with the heartbeat measures
on it and hands it to JOHANA.
JOHANA feels she's on the verge of crying, and can't figure
it out.
UNDERWATER - JACQUES
JACQUES stops his machine by turning one of the handles.
He's deep beneath the surface of the frozen lake. He swims
deliberately, carefully into a large tube which is hinged
open. He closes it around himself. His heart is still
slowing down. He pushes a button on the machine, and a
flash of light bursts in the opaque night surrounding him.
BACK IN LAB - ON VIDEO SCREEN
We see a moving X-ray image.
LAWRENCE
He's in the fluoroscope now. Listen
to his heart. Impressive, huh?
The flow of blood is concentrated
in the brain and doesn't even feed
the limbs anymore. It's a phenomena
that has only been observed with
dolphins... until now.
JOHANA
How long can he stay down? Without
breathing?
LAWRENCE
It depends. He should come up
soon.
(smiling)
Unless he's decided to stay for
the night.
JOHANA
Why is he doing this?
LAWRENCE
For one thing, it's his job... as
for the rest of it, I wish I knew.
JOHANA sighs with relief as JACQUES appears at the surface
in one big breath.
JOHANA
Shouldn't somebody take him a
blanket or something?
LAWRENCE
(smiling at Frank)
Coffee might be nice.
She heads towards the Old Peruvian and pours a cup of
coffee...
JOHANA
(afterthought)
Will he understand Spanish?
LAWRENCE
His mother's an American. He spent
half of his life in the states.
I'd try English if I were you.
EXT. DOCK - JACQUES SURFACING
He's groggy, half hypnotized. He looks up at the dock,
sees JOHANA with a cup of coffee. He stares at her. She
hands him the coffee.
JACQUES
(puzzled)
I recognize you.
JOHANA
We saw each other a little while
ago.
JACQUES
(serious)
In the lake?
JOHANA
(wondering whether
he is joking or
not)
No... in the hut.
After a long beat...
JACQUES
(with a beautiful
smile)
Then it was somebody that looked a
lot like you... Thank you.
JACQUES then turns around and walks toward the huts.
JOHANA still hasn't moved, as if petrified by her emotions
and the severe cold. She then walks up to the hole in the
ice and peers into the dark water. She shudders.
INT. CABIN - DAWN
JOHANA emerges from a down sleeping bag. She's wearing a
big sweater and a wool hat. She is not sleeping.
Intrigued by the sound of the snowmobile, she gets up and
walks over to the frozen window. JACQUES and FRANK are
loading their luggage onto the snowmobile.
Outside, LAWRENCE is saying "Goodbye" to JACQUES. Unseen,
JOHANA also waves from behind her curtain. JACQUES senses
something: he turns around toward the cabin and smiles,
waving his hand at JOHANA. She hides behind the curtain
and shyly waves back.
JACQUES gets into the snowmobile and drives out of the
frame. We are left with an endless array of snow-caped
mountains.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. COTE D'AZUR - DAY
Fixed image of the Cote d'Azur. The sparkling blue sea
fades into the distance.
A French taxi rides along the winding road overlooking the
creeks.
INT. - TAXI
From behind all his bags, JACQUES obsessively stares at
the sea.
The driver smiles.
DRIVER
It's beautiful, isn't it?
JACQUES smiles.
DRIVER
We had some bad wind this week.
The "Mistral"!! "Peuchere"! There
isn't one olive left on its tree.
It suddenly left us this morning...
I sure won't be the one to call it
back.
EXT. ANTIBES - ROAD TO MARINELAND
The taxi comes to a stop in front of Marineland. JACQUES
gets out, carrying one of his bags.
JACQUES
(to the driver)
I'll only be five minutes.
He enters Marineland.
EXT. MARINELAND - ON JACQUES
The park is closed, the paths are deserted. JACQUES
approaches the Dolphin's tank. All three dolphins rise up
in the water. Greet him with a click and clatter of
tongues. JACQUES sits down at the edge of the tank.
JACQUES
Good morning, everybody! Did you
sleep well? I slept in a plane,
and it wasn't too great.
He opens his duffel bag. Hunts around, comes up with two
packages wrapped in brownpaper. The dolphins stare at
him, intrigued.
JACQUES
(calling out)
Hey! presents.
The dolphins CACKLE some more.
JACQUES
You think I'd forget you?
He laughs. The driver, who seems to be quite familiar
with the place, walks in heading straight over to the soda
machine. Out of the corner of his eye, he takes in the
scene, very intrigued.
JACQUES has not noticed him.
He starts unwrapping the first package.
JACQUES
For Bathsheba.
He produces a little ceramic Llama.
ON BATHSHEBA
looking at the llama, bewildered. As bewildered as a
dolphin can be. JACQUES turns the llama upside down. It
moos: HIAK, HIAK...
JACQUES
It's a Llama. You understand?
From Peru. It's fighting.
BATHSHEBA shakes her head. JACQUES throws the llama into
the water. He unwraps the second package. A pair of
Peruvian gloves and hat. Wide eyed, the driver sits in
the stands to watch the show.
JACQUES
That's for you, Darjeeling. We
wouldn't want you to catch cold!
He throws them to DARJEELING who catches them.
JACQUES
And now...
(singing out)
"Ta, da..." For you Tina.
He pulls out a thermos.
JACQUES
Something you've never seen either.
He opens the thermos.
JACQUES
Snow!
He sprinkles snow flakes on TINA'S head. She tries to
taste it.
JACQUES
(smiling like a
child)
A new experience, Tina.
(nostalgic)
I missed you little rascals. Did
you get my post card?
The three dolphins leap into the air and land with a huge
splash which soaks JACQUES. He takes his shirt off.
JACQUES
(pretending to be
serious)
Oh? Is that what you want?
Alright, but five minutes, no more.
I have a taxi waiting.
He takes off his pants. The taxi driver gets up, as if to
keep him from going in. JACQUES dives into the pool.
UNDERWATER - ON JACQUES
He swims under the dolphin, reaches out and grabs hold of
the dolphin's snout.
The dolphin pulls JACQUES around and around the basin while
JACQUES pets his chest and belly. We have never seen
JACQUES so relaxed and happy.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. MANHATTAN - DAWN
Overview of a gray and dirty Manhattan morning. JOHANA
depressed, stares blankly out of the window of a yellow
cab. She watches the muddy brown water flow under the
Brooklyn Bridge.
The driver keeps yelling obscenities to all the cars
around him.
EXT. MANHATTAN - DAY
A suitcase in each hand, JOHANA gets out of the cab and
walks up the stairs of her apartment.
INT. HALLWAY - DAY
JOHANA puts down her suitcase wearily. Catches her breath
and gets out her keys. She tries one in the top lock. It
doesn't work. She tries harder. There's a woman's voice
yelling angrily from inside the apartment.
SALLY (O.S.)
I changed the lock you son of a
bitch!
JOHANA
... Sally?
The door opens.
SALLY
You're back! Hello. We were
burgled.
JOHANA
Again?
SALLY
They got the new T.V.
JOHANA comes in, looks at the ransacked apartment.
SALLY
... And the new stereo.
JOHANA
I hope they remembered to take the
microwave this time?
SALLY
Yep. How was your trip...? Help
me clean up, okay?
JOHANA
You called the police?
SALLY
They're going to send detectives.
When they get around to it.
JOHANA
(shrugging)
So what, all they ever want is
your phone number anyway.
JOHANA goes over, slumps into an easy chair and sighs.
After a beat...
SALLY
Well?
JOHANA
What?
SALLY
How was your trip?
JOHANA
(flatly)
Nice... Very interesting... Great!
(doubtfully)
... I guess.
SALLY
(ironically)
Okay... Who'd you meet?
JOHANA opens her handbag, takes out the strip of
electrocardiogram paper, hands it to her.
SALLY
A cardiogram...? You met a doctor!
Congratulations, you're in the chips...
(an afterthought)
Unless they have socialized medicine
in Peru. Do they?
JOHANA
(indicating paper)
It's his heartbeat.
SALLY
Oh Jesus...! I'll make some coffee.
(starts toward
kitchen)
They left the stove.
TIME DISSOLVE:
INT. APARTMENT - LATER
The living room is almost completely put back together...
SALLY is replacing books in the bookcase, JOHANA is using
a carpet sweeper, and talking away.
JOHANA
(nonstop)
6'3", 6'1", maybe 5'9" -- You can't
be sure, you know the flippers,
they add height or they take it
away, or something. Anyway short
dark hair...
Not punk or anything, just short.
And the cutest smile. He wasn't smiling at me, I don't
think -- just smiling. And he thought he saw me in the
lake. I mean that was a figure of speech... They're so
romantic, the French.
SALLY
(bored, half asleep)
I thought you said he was Peruvian?
JOHANA
(annoyed)
Haven't you been listening?
SALLY opens the drapes, revealing it's dawn outside.
SALLY
... Since eight o'clock last
night...! You're in love.
JOHANA
Don't be a jerk.
(emphatically)
There's no such thing as love at
first sight.
DISSOLVE TO:
UNDERWATER - SWIMMING POOL
JACQUES is swimming alone at the bottom of a gigantic
swimming pool. He wears a monofin, his head and chest are
wired up to an assistant who runs back and forth alongside
the pool.
A man's feet are seen walking over to the side of the pool.
JACQUES is swimming laps, arching his body like a dolphin.
As he approaches one end of the pool, he sees a coin slowly
falling in front of him. JACQUES picks it up and looks at
it: it's an old Greek coin.
JACQUES smiles and swims to the surface.
EXT. ON SIDE OF SWIMMING POOL - DAY
JACQUES pokes his head out of the water and pulls off his
goggles.
ENZO stands over him, smiling.
ENZO
Jacques, my friend, how are you?
JACQUES
(happy)
Enzo...
A beat.
ENZO
I leave you swimming and twenty
years later, you're still in the
water! What the hell are you doing?
Training?
JACQUES
Yes.
An uneasiness sweeps over ENZO'S face and quickly
disappears.
ENZO
That's good.
(smiling again)
You never would have recognized
me, huh? Check out the suit!
Looking good, no? You know I'm
the world champion?
JACQUES
Yes, I know.
ENZO
I dove 315 feet!
JACQUES
Great!
ENZO
They say I'm like Lazarus. You
know, the guy who was raised from
the dead?!
He laughs. JACQUES smiles. ENZO goes on.
ENZO
(serious)
Doesn't it surprise you that I
just show up like this... Listen,
the world championship starts in
ten days in Taormina. Be my guest.
ENZO puts down an airplane ticket on the side of the pool.
ENZO
Your ticket.
Surprised, JACQUES looks over at the ticket.
JACQUES
Why?
ENZO
Because I'm sure you're dying to
beat me.
JACQUES
(shaking his head)
I don't want to be in any
competition... I dive because I
like to, not to beat a record...
don't you have to be very mad at
somebody to want to beat him?
ENZO
No. All you need is to want to be
the best.
JACQUES
(smiles)
You're the best, Enzo!
ENZO
(with a tense grin
on his face)
That's too easy! Every time I
beat a record there's always some
dumbshit asking me: "D'you know
that French guy, Mayol? He's
supposed to be very good! Too bad
he doesn't compete." So, you're
going to come with me to Taormina!
First, because you're my friend
and second, because you don't have
one reason to keep on spoiling my
pleasure.
(he pushes the
airplane ticket to
Jacques)
... I'll see you there...
EXT. OFFICE BUILDING - NEW YORK - DAY
INT. DUFFY'S OFFICE - DUFFY - JOHANA
She is seated across the desk from him. He's reading
through her report. Behind him, outside the large plate
glass window, window-washers are seated on a scaffold
suspended far above the city. They eat lunch.
JOHANA'S eyes wander (bored) around the office as DUFFY
reads. He looks up.
DUFFY
(indicating report)
This is good work... unfortunately
it's incomplete.
(he glances at the
window)
Could you eat a sandwich 40 floors
above the street.
JOHANA
(absently)
What kind?
DUFFY
Johana, am I boring you?
JOHANA
Sorry. Of course not, definitely
not... well, maybe a little. What
did you say?
DUFFY
I said that the file is incomplete.
See if you can get through to this Lawrence character and
have him send the Peruvian registration for his missing
truck... and don't let him tell you it was in the glove
compartment.
JOHANA
Right Chief!
She starts out of the office.
DUFFY
(to her back)
Did the driver really freeze?
JOHANA
Like a popsicle. They're keeping
him on a stick until spring.
DUFFY
My God! I'm glad I didn't go.
JOHANA
(under her breath,
leaving)
... So am I.
INT. QUONSET HUT - PERU - DAY
Doctor LAWRENCE covers one ear with his hand as he yells
into the phone.
LAWRENCE
(screaming)
... I said, all the truck papers
are in the glove compartment!
INT. JOHANA'S OFFICE - MANHATTAN
JOHANA sits at her desk, she too is yelling into the
telephone. Her colleague looks over at her and smiles.
JOHANA
(with a sigh)
Okay, listen, just get the custom's
office to send me a copy as fast
as possible. We can't send you
new equipment until our file is
complete. Okay?
INT. QUONSET HUT - PERU - DAY
LAWRENCE
Okay, okay. You'll have it by the
end of the week, how's that?
JOHANA (V.O.)
You've made me a happy insurance
person.
LAWRENCE
Then, goodbye.
He is just about to hang up.
INT. JOHANA'S OFFICE - MANHATTAN
JOHANA jumps up.
JOHANA
Wait! Professor...?
LAWRENCE (V.O.)
... Yes?
JOHANA starts snooping around the papers on her desk,
embarrassed by the presence of her colleague.
JOHANA
(as softly as
possible)
You don't know how I could reach
that diver of yours... Mayol... We
need some additional information...
I mean, we have a few questions to ask him.
INT. QUONSET HUT - PERU - DAY
LAWRENCE
The last thing I heard, he was off
to Taormina for the world diving
championships. That's Taormina,
in Sicily!
INT. DUFFY'S OFFICE - DAY
JOHANA dashes in without knocking.
JOHANA
Listen, I just found out we've got
real problems in Sicily!
DUFFY
(alarmed)
What d'you mean?
JOHANA
(improvising)
The mafia! La Cosa Nostra!
Coppola! De Niro...! I knew it! I knew we shouldn't
have written that policy!!
DUFFY
(pale)
What's happened??
JOHANA
The documents are forged.
DUFFY
No!
JOHANA
Yes! The notary is a phony. He
has the same signature as the
contractor!
DUFFY
(outraged)
It can't be true!
JOHANA
(fast talking)
We have to send somebody over there
immediately! If we prove the
forgery we can cancel the policy.
We'll be off the hook. There's a
flight to Rome in two hours and
from there its just a short hop to
Sicily.
DUFFY
(reaching for phone)
I'll send Cardoza, he'll be able
to...
JOHANA
(interrupting)
I tried him, he can't go. His son
is being Bar Mitzvohed tomorrow...
I'll go, boss.
DUFFY
I thought it was Spanish that you
spoke?
JOHANA
(after a beat)
Italian is practically the same
thing.
EXT. PORT OF MESSINE - DAY
A ferry comes into the dock, as a plank is slowly lowered.
As it descends, four rail cars lie in wait in its belly.
JOHANA comes off the boat, carrying her suitcase, she wears
a light summer dress. She looks around, seeming a little
lost.
A white FIAT taxi screeches to a halt beside her. JOHANA
jumps. The driver whose arm loosely dangles from the car
window, grins at her.
DRIVER
... Taxi?
EXT. SAN DOMENICO - DAY
The white FIAT taxi pulls up in front of the SAN DOMENICO
hotel, but it is JACQUES who gets out of it. The driver
helps him with his bags.
RECEPTIONIST
(checking the books)
Mayol... Mayol... No reservation.
JACQUES
(uncomfortable)
... Are you sure?
RECEPTIONIST
Positive, Sir.
JACQUES looks down at the piece of paper stapled to his
ticket.
JACQUES
This is the hotel San Domenico?
RECEPTIONIST
Yes Sir, and it has been so for
127 years.
JACQUES
(more and more
uncomfortable)
Yes, but... So, you haven't got a
room left?
RECEPTIONIST
No Sir, the hotel is full because
of the Diving championship.
JACQUES
Ah?!
The Receptionist starts working on his papers again.
JACQUES, completely lost, stares blankly at the hotel clerk,
wondering what to do next.
INT. HOTEL - DAY
The tiny FIAT clatters onto the sidewalk in front of the
hotel narrowly avoiding the Countess' limo. Parks its
frontwheels on the sidewalk, rear end in the road.
ENZO, followed by ROBERTO, get out of his car, like a king
descending from his carriage. On the way, he stops and
kisses a distinguished elderly woman's hand? The hotel's
CONTESSA.
ENZO tosses his keys to a doorman who stepped up to
complain.
ENZO
(to doorman)
Be careful with that car, it's a
new paint job.
ENZO enters the hotel and sees JACQUES.
ENZO
(yelling across the
lobby)
Giacomino! My friend! My brother!
ENZO and JACQUES. The two men kiss each other on both
cheeks, pound each others back. They are both moved.
ENZO
(looking at him)
So you finally decided to join us?
You did the right thing!
(to the desk clerk)
Hey Paolo! Come stai? Get my
key!
(to Jacques,
gesturing over his
shoulder)
You remember my little brother
Roberto?
Roberto (26) nods to JACQUES who shakes his hand.
JACQUES
I remember. Hi Roberto!
ENZO
What room have you got?
JACQUES
I don't have one.
ENZO
You don't have a room?
(at the top of his
lungs)
Paolo? What did I just hear? I
personally called you to reserve a
room for my good friend Jacques
Mayol and you treat him like a
stranger?!
JACQUES
(embarrassed)
It's okay, Enzo. I'll go somewhere
else.
ENZO
Not only is Jacques Mayol a very
special friend, but he happens to
be one of the best divers in the
world! And you're throwing him
out! Are you crazy, or what?
Stupido!
JACQUES
(really embarrassed
now)
Enzo drop it, I'll find something.
ENZO looks at him for a moment and gives him a warm smile.
He hands him his own keys.
ENZO
Take mine. I'll take the Countess'
suite. She told me she was leaving
for the cemetery... She'll be more
comfortable there.
PAOLO half-heartedly, hands him the key. ENZO glances at
JACQUES to make sure he's properly impressed. He throws
his arm around JACQUES' shoulder, hugs him and gives him a
real smile.
ENZO
(sincerely)
I'm glad you're here.
EXT. HOTEL TERRACE TAORMINA - JACQUES - ENZO - DAY
They're at a table on a terrace that overlooks the sea.
They've just arrived and all around them people are lunching
away furiously.
ENZO beckons to a passing WAITER who comes to the table.
He's a very handsome, slightly effeminate young man.
ENZO
(to waiter)
"Spaghetti del mare"
(to Jacques)
It's delicious here. It's the one
thing they really know how to make.
WAITER
Del mare for two?
JACQUES
(nodding quickly)
Yes, sure, for two.
ENZO
And a bottle of "Frascatti". Two
bottles!
WAITER
Si Signore, grazie mille.
The waiter hurries away. ENZO watches his departure, then
thoughtfully.
ENZO
He moves just like a woman.
(then, as if he
were speaking to
Jacques)
It must be hard to live in two
worlds like that, huh? To breathe
in one, swim in the other...
JACQUES nods without really knowing.
ENZO
(suddenly louder)
Anyway! Nothing beats a sexy broad!
Huh, Jacques!
ENZO starts laughing. JACQUES would like to crawl under
the table.
TIME DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. HOTEL TERRACE TAORMINA - JACQUES - ENZO - LATER
Their lunch is on the table, half eaten.
ENZO
... So, after all these years, you
must have lots of questions to
ask. Am I right?
JACQUES
(quickly)
Yes, of course. Lots of questions.
JACQUES is satisfied with his answer. He thinks that the
subject is closed. They eat silently for a moment. ENZO
watches him. Then:
ENZO
Well, what are they?
JACQUES
(giving up)
I'm sorry... I don't know how to
ask the questions.
ENZO bursts out laughing.
ENZO
Well, then. I'll do the asking
for you. "Tell me dear Enzo, how
did you become World Champion?"
Oh, that's a long story.
(his voice changes)
Well, after you left Amorgos, I
went back to Italy and joined the
Navy. So you now have in front of
you --
Captain Molinari, who's been on leave of absence for the
past 14 years...
JACQUES
That's good.
ENZO
How do you make a living? Your
experiments, does it pay well?
JACQUES
It's okay.
ENZO
... You married?
JACQUES doesn't seem to have ever thought about marriage.
JACQUES
No.
ENZO
Me neither, 'cause of my Mother.
She's a curse, my Mamma, a tornado.
Stubborn as a mule! I was
engaged... for a week. After that,
Mamma was so mad, I tell you, pasta
was bouncing off the walls.
JACQUES smiles.
ENZO
So, not married. Well, good for
you. You play the field, like me.
A girl in every port, huh?
JACQUES
(bluffing)
Exactly, I mean, after all, we're
men!
ENZO
(slapping the table
top)
Damn right! That's what I tell
them when people say you've turned
into a fish.
JACQUES
(concerned)
People say that?
ENZO
(sorry he went too
far)
Forget it. I was joking.
EXT. ENTRANCE TO TERRACE - ON JOHANA
JOHANA comes out of the stone tunnel which leads to the
terrace. She looks over the crowd, trying to find someone.
JACQUES is sitting with his back to her. She finally spots
him and walks over to the table.
ENZO
Eh! La Madonna! This one is for
me. I'll bet you my watch that
she's in my bed tonight.
JACQUES turns around and recognizes her. JOHANA smiles
and walks up to the table. ENZO takes his watch off and
puts it on the table.
ENZO
(quickly)
I tell you she's mine!
JOHANA
(to Jacques)
Hello!
ENZO
(surprised)
You know each other?
JOHANA
Yes.
ENZO
Enzo Molinari.
ENZO kisses her hand and brushes his watch off the table
in the same movement.
ENZO
This is a great pleasure.
JOHANA
(laughing at the
protocol)
Johana Cross, pleased to meet you.
(then to Jacques,
faking surprise)
Well! Isn't this a coincidence.
I really wasn't expecting this...
All the way out here. It's
incredible!
JACQUES
Please, have a seat.
JOHANA
Thank you. I wouldn't want to
interrupt anything.
JOHANA sits down.
JACQUES
No, no!
ENZO
Not at all!
JACQUES
You're staying at the hotel?
JOHANA
I wish, but it's full. They
recommended a pension in town.
They say that all of Taormina is
full. What's going on here?
ENZO
It's the Free Diving World
Championship. I am by the way
world champion!
JOHANA has turned toward JACQUES, paying no attention to
ENZO. JACQUES can't stop looking at JOHANA.
JACQUES
But what brought you to Sicily?
JOHANA
I was doing an insurance
investigation in Palermo.
(to Enzo)
I work for an insurance company.
(back to Jacques)
So, I decided to take a few days
off.
(uncomfortable)
I don't know this island at all.
It really is gorgeous.
ENZO
There is no place in the world
more beautiful than Sicily!
The waiter passes behind them. ENZO reaches out, grabs
him by the arm, pulls him to the table.
ENZO
(to waiter)
A spaghetti del mare for the super
dedicated traveling insurance agent.
JOHANA
(smiling)
I think I'll have a coffee.
JACQUES
No, no. You'll like it. It's
superb.
JOHANA
... Okay. I'll try.
ENZO pours the wine.
JOHANA shrugs fatalistically. The waiter leaves.
JACQUES, intrigued, stares at JOHANA. She pretends not to
notice.
ENZO
(impatient)
Where did you two meet?
JOHANA
In a lake.
ENZO
I might have known.
(to Johana)
As I was telling you earlier, I'm
the world champion free diver.
JOHANA
Congratulations.
ENZO
Some people say it's the most virile
sport in the world. One has to
admit that when you see those men
diving head first in that deep
blue sea, all muscles contracted
in one super human effort...
JACQUES
(interrupting)
Enzo?
ENZO
(annoyed)
What?
JACQUES
Your mother?
ENZO
Ahi, ahi, cazzo! Ma mamia!
Where...? God, she'll kill me...
(pushing the plate
in front of Johana)
... if she catches me eating pasta
in a restaurant.
He quickly brushes off the crumbs in front of him.
ON ENZO'S MOTHER
heading toward them. She's a huge
woman in widow's black.
She shoulders her way through the tables.
ROBERTO carrying her suitcases follows at her heels.
ENZO jumps to his feet. Throws his arms around her.
ENZO
... Mamma!
MAMMA MOLINARI
(expressionless)
You expect me to carry all the
luggage myself?
ENZO
Mamma. Roberto and an elevator...
Isn't that enough?
A beat. Signora MOLINARI inspects the plates on the table.
MAMMA MOLINARI
(suspiciously)
What have you been eating?
ENZO
Coffee only, I'm diving tomorrow.
You remember little Jacques, Jacques Mayol...
JACQUES
(timidly)
Madame...
ENZO
... And his friend, Johana...
Signora MOLINARI nods grudgingly.
WAITER
(arriving proudly)
Spaghetti del mare!
Dead silence.
ENZO is the only one with no plate in front of him.
Signora MOLINARI'S eyebrows condense into a dark stripe
across her forehead.
JOHANA hands ENZO'S plate to the WAITER and takes the full
one.
JOHANA
(to waiter)
Thank you.
And begins to eat, ignoring the expressions of amazement
all around her.
MAMMA MOLINARI
Americana?
JOHANA nods enthusiastically, her mouth too full to speak.
MAMMA MOLINARI
(impressed, to Johana)
Benvenuto!
MAMMA MOLINARI has a huge grin on her face.
EXT. TAORMINA STREET - JACQUES, JOHANA - TWILIGHT
They emerge onto the street in front of the entrance of a
small rooming house.
JACQUES is carrying JOHANA'S luggage. The old pension is
covered in bright pink bougainvilliers, there is laundry
hanging on the other side of the street.
JOHANA
Thanks for helping with the bag.
(she looks up at
the pension with
little enthusiasm)
It looks great!
JACQUES
I thought it was a nice place.
(suddenly doubting)
Isn't it?
JOHANA
I'm being a pain in the ass.
(looking at him)
It's beautiful here.
They look at each other. JACQUES is silent. He just stands
there, a suitcase in each hand.
JOHANA breaks the silence.
JOHANA
You're going to be very busy these
days aren't you?
JACQUES
I don't know... why?
JOHANA
Just because... I would have liked
to visit the town... See the
coast... I don't know anybody...
Expect for you.
(FEELING SHE HAS GONE TOO FAR)
But you are going to be very busy.
You must have tons of things to prepare, interviews... And
a competition like this one must require a great deal of
concentration, right?
JACQUES
(shakes his head
negatively)
Yes... Maybe... I don't know. I
don't like competitions... It ruins
the fun. Don't you think?
JOHANA
(with a faint smile)
I guess... But you know... I'm
American and I've mostly been taught
to be competitive... There's always
pleasure of being the best?
JACQUES
Maybe on earth there is one... but
not when you dive... You see, to
dive deep into the sea, for no
reason... just to do it. It's a
feeling... I don't know how to say
this... Voluptuous?
He looks up at her as he pronounces the last word. She
smiles at him, lovingly.
JOHANA
(laughing)
You can put down the suitcases,
you know.
He lets go of the suitcases. Suddenly, behind them, there
is a loud screech of tires. The FIAT tears across the
street.
ENZO in his FIAT. He pokes his head out of the window.
ENZO
C'mon, you two... Jacques, we have
to get ready for the ceremony
tonight. We have a new world
champion.
JACQUES
I'm a little tired, I don't know
if...
ENZO
Get in the car!
INT. ENZO'S SUITE - ENZO, JACQUES, ROBERTO - NIGHT
They're in front of a wardrobe looking JACQUES over in the
full-length mirrors. He's wearing an evening shirt and a
tuxedo of ENZO'S. The collar is too big, the sleeves
hangover his hands. He looks at himself dubiously in the
mirror.
ENZO
Roberto! The bow-tie!
ROBERTO hands ENZO the bow-tie, he hooks it around JACQUES'
collar.
ENZO
(taking a few steps
back)
Very good.
JACQUES looks down at his tennis shoes.
ROBERTO
What about the shoes?
ENZO
Very chic.
(hesitates)
Anyway, you don't have anything
else, do you?
JACQUES
No.
ENZO
Then, it's very chic. Avanti!
EXT. RECEPTION ON TERRACE - NIGHT
A big reception is organized on the terrace of the hotel.
The official divers and technicians are all gathered in
front of a podium. The terrace is loaded with
photographers.
ROBERTO keeps turning round and round the long buffet table.
JACQUES is alone at the bar. Incongruous detail: a whiskey
bottle on the table beside him.
JOHANA enters. She has also had a few drinks.
JOHANA
I thought you'd be at the dinner.
JACQUES
It's too loud for me.
He tugs at his over-sized tuxedo.
JOHANA
You look adorable.
JACQUES
Thank you...
JOHANA
(smiling)
... Especially the sneakers.
JACQUES looks down at his feet, doesn't know what to make
of her comment. JOHANA sits down beside him and pours
herself a drink. They touch glasses.
EXT. ON PODIUM - NIGHT
On the podium, NOVELLI, the organizer of the championship,
stands in his tuxedo, talking into a microphone. An older
man in a worn out suit, stands next to him.
NOVELLI
Ladies and Gentlemen, your
attention, please. Mr. Andre
Bonnet, President of the
International Diving Championship
Committee, is going to present
this trophy to the new world
champion of free diving. This
afternoon, our new champion
descended to the remarkable depth
of 280 feet.
The audience applauds.
NOVELLI
This young man Tia...
NOVELLI can't quite read his notes.
NOVELLI
Tiraro... Tirao-re... Moa...
ANDRE BONNET takes his turn to read the note. A young
Tahitian jumps up, heads for the podium.
TAHITIAN
Tiraero Moameora.
NOVELLI hesitates to repeat the name.
NOVELLI
... Let's all give him a big hand.
The audience cheers and applauds the new champion. ENZO
sits at a table, watching the ceremony.
ENZO
(very sarcastic)
A one day hero!
He gets up and walks out of the room.
INT. BAR - NIGHT
JACQUES and JOHANA are sitting at the bar. The whiskeys
have gone to their heads. ENZO walks over to them.
ENZO
A new world record! That's great!
It gives me something to beat
tomorrow!
(to Johana)
You ever been to Tahiti?
JOHANA
No.
ENZO
I'll take you there. We'll live
in the sun. You'll cook fresh
fish and we'll make love under the
coconut trees.
JOHANA smiles and shakes her head.
JOHANA
You forgot the Hula!
ENZO
Yes, of course, I'll do the Hula!
JOHANA
You'll be lovely, but no thanks.
(to Jacques)
Jacques, would you do a native
dance for me?
JACQUES
I don't know how... Excuse me.
JACQUES leaves the bar. JOHANA watches him go. ENZO
notices her way of watching him. He's a little jealous.
ENZO
He looks strange, doesn't he?
Like a baby that just learned to
walk.
JOHANA
Have you known him long?
ENZO
Forever. We used to live on the
same island in Greece, when we
were kids.
JOHANA
What was he like, when he was
little?
ENZO
Little. Very little. And skinny,
very skinny too. That is compared
to me.
JOHANA
(amused)
I get it, Enzo you were a superior
child.
ENZO
Exactly! What is it Johana? You're
so crazy about him, you don't see
the truth?!
She doesn't answer.
ENZO
Forget it, don't think of Jacques
as a human being. He's from another
world.
She smiles.
JOHANA
And just where are you from?
ENZO
Italy!
EXT. TERRACE OF THE HOTEL - NIGHT
ENZO sits at the grand piano in the corner of the terrace.
Beethoven was always a favorite of his.
JACQUES, very tipsy by now walks over, a glass in each
hand. He hands ENZO a glass, then takes off his tennis
shoes and sits them neatly on the piano.
ENZO
There is nothing like music. It
speaks from the heart. Can you
tell me why we bother diving in
the dark, the cold, without ever
taking the time to breathe? Huh?
Can you tell me why we do it?
JACQUES nods.
ENZO
Why?
JACQUES
... For the mermaids.
ENZO smiles, moved.
ENZO
My father used to see them
everywhere too... but the only one
he ever caught was my mother...
Actually she caught him.
A beat.
JACQUES
Today at lunch, you asked me if I
had any questions.
ENZO
Ah ha. You finally want to know
about women.
JACQUES
Why? Are they what's most
important?
ENZO
No... It depends... Sometimes they
are... What, exactly do you want
to know?
JACQUES
... Everything.
ENZO
Everything about what?
JACQUES
(thinking)
Well... about everything.
ENZO grins at JACQUES and starts playing again.
TIME DISSOLVE TO LATER:
JACQUES AND ENZO
There are now several empty
champagne bottles around.
They are both quite drunk. ENZO is philosophizing.
JOHANA is looking for them.
ENZO
... So, between Mamma, Roberto and
the sisters, we yell and scream
all day long. Except with Angelica.
She just cries. And then finally,
we all end up kissing. Can you
explain that to me?
JACQUES can't answer.
ENZO
Because that's what love is all
about. It's a pain in the ass but
keeps us together.
(then, in a half
dreaming, half
desperate tone)
A large and beautiful family!
JOHANA walks over to them.
JACQUES
(suddenly)
Enzo... We must quit the
competition.
ENZO hits a wrong note on the piano.
ENZO
(worried)
Why?
JACQUES
If we don't... I'm going to beat
you.
JOHANA stands next to JACQUES.
ENZO
(with a nervous
laugh)
Huh? Well listen to him!
(to Johana)
Do you hear that?
JOHANA
No.
ENZO
He looks me in the eye like some
fuckin' gold fish, and says: "I'm
going to beat you".
JOHANA
(with a smile)
... That's what he's here for,
isn't he?
ENZO
Listen to her! "That's what he's
here for"! He's here to loose,
that's what he's here for. First
of all, I'm unbeatable. Second,
how old are you?
JACQUES
Two years younger than you.
ENZO
As I said, second of all you're
too skinny. You've got tiny lungs.
I still don't understand how you
can dive without getting sick.
JACQUES
The size of the lungs has nothing
to do with it!
ENZO
Look at me. These aren't lungs.
These are... Tanks. How long can
you hold your breath?
ENZO is getting really angry. The drinks have a lot to do
with it.
JACQUES
(impatiently)
I don't know. Longer than you.
ENZO pulls open his collar and rises.
ENZO
We'll see.
EXT. HOTEL - SWIMMING POOL - UNDERWATER - NIGHT
JACQUES and ENZO dive into the pool in their Tuxedos.
Each one carries a beach umbrella in a concrete base to
help them stay at the bottom.
ENZO takes two goblets out of his pocket, hands them to
JACQUES. Takes a bottle of Champagne out of the other
pocket and opens it. The cork floats out of the bottle.
Above on the surface of the pool there's a splash. JOHANA
finds a mask on the side of the pool and watches them.
Her dress is soaked by now.
ENZO pours champagne. Courteous and grave, they clink
glasses and begin to drink. They have already been
underwater longer than a minute. They can't really drink
out of the glasses and ENZO offers JACQUES the bottle.
JACQUES studies the label like a connoisseur. He drinks,
passes the bottle back to ENZO.
INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR - NIGHT
Paramedics roll two stretchers toward the elevators at
full speed. ENZO on one, JACQUES on the other. Both men
keep throwing up water.
INT. JACQUES'S ROOM - NIGHT
The paramedics roll the stretcher toward the bed.
JOHANA very worried, follows them.
JOHANA
Take it easy...
PARAMEDIC
Don't worry, he's empty now. He
needs sleep, that's all.
The two men leave the room.
JOHANA walks over to the chair and rearranges JACQUES'
shirt and jacket which the paramedic had thrown down.
JACQUES looks like he's just had a very rough night. He
sits up and grabs the sides of the bed, as if he were on a
moving boat.
JACQUES
Who won?
JOHANA turns around, furious.
JOHANA
Won what? The Ass Hole Award?
Well, let me tell you, it's a tie!
She walks over to the bed.
JOHANA
Acting like a pair of two year
olds!
You could have died in that damn pool!
JACQUES
Please move slowly, you're rocking
the boat.
JOHANA
(smiling)
Lucky I was there to save you.
JACQUES
(seeing her wet
dress)
You jumped in?
JOHANA
Only to help the medics, I assure
you.
JACQUES
My wallet.
JOHANA wet, walks over to the wet clothes on the chair.
She pulls out JACQUES soaking wallet from one of the jacket
pockets.
JOHANA
It's still here.
She tries to wipe it.
JACQUES
No. I want to show you. Is it
ruined?
JOHANA
Well, water isn't exactly the best
thing for pictures... Not even for
pictures of dolphins...
JACQUES
Give it to me.
JOHANA hands him the photograph. He stares at it, looking
very sad. Worried JOHANA sits down next to him.
JACQUES
(on the verge of
tears)
My real family...
(he looks at the
picture and cries)
What kind of man has such a family?
She takes the picture out of his hands.
He is so upset that JOHANA can hardly help from crying
with him. She sits next to him and strokes his hair.
JACQUES
I'm sick of never feeling at home
anywhere.
JOHANA takes him in her arms. He breaks down.
EXT. HOTEL - DAWN
The early morning sun slowly lights up the water. A yacht
has left the hotel dock. It is moving out to sea off the
coast of TAORMINA.
EXT. YACHT - ON DECK
This is the Committee Boat for the diving competition.
On the boat, ROBERTO is worried. He checks his watch and
finally decides to wake up his brother. ENZO is asleep in
the fore peak, curled up on a coil of line, snoring away.
He wears his tuxedo jacket over a skimpy bathing suit.
ROBERTO
Enzo, wake up!
ENZO
(pulled from his
dream)
Eh? Si! Avanti!
He gets up on one arm.
ROBERTO
The medics are looking all over
for you.
ENZO
(irritated)
I'm meditating, can't you see?
Jacques does two hours of yoga
before going down. I can take a
five minute nap, can't I?
The boat stops. The anchor is thrown over board.
The sailors, technicians and officials are getting ready
for the competition. Today is ENZO'S turn to dive. A man
is hooking a plaque indicating the depth (324 feet) onto a
lead disk which he heaves into the water on a cable.
INT. YACHT - DOCTOR'S CABIN - DAY
A medic is bending over ENZO, taking his blood pressure.
ROBERTO pulls the tuxedo jacket down. The doctor puts a
blood pressure band around ENZO'S upper arm, pumps it up.
He listens with his stethoscope.
DOCTOR
Mr. Molinari, I'm terribly sorry
but I cannot allow you to dive in
such an advanced state of
exhaustion.
ENZO jumps to his feet, grabs the doctor by his lapels,
lifts him in the air.
ENZO
(outraged)
What do you know about the sea?
Huh? Nothing! So you just put
your tubes and tin cans away. The
sea is mine! I know when she is
ready for me and when she isn't.
And today, she is ready.
Understand?
DOCTOR
You dive at your own risk. You're
been warned.
ENZO smiles and pats the doctor on the shoulder.
ENZO
Brave.
EXT. YACHT - ON DIVING PLATFORM
It's a large float, rigged to the stern of the Committee
Boat. ROBERTO and an assistant help ENZO down the swim
ladder to the platform. He's wearing a wet suit and fins.
He flip-flops to the end of the platform.
ROBERTO hands him his mask. The goggles are filled with
polystyrene to eliminate as much air pressure as possible.
Only two pinholes to see through. The mask fits tightly
over his nose. When ENZO puts it on, he looks like an
astonished insect. ENZO breathes faster and faster.
ROBERTO holds the wire controlling the weighted diving
apparatus. ENZO crosses himself, takes a last long gulp
of air.
ROBERTO releases the weight. It sinks and drags ENZO down,
he quickly disappears into the dark water...
BLACK AND WHITE
But this is JACQUES as he was a
child. He swims along the bottom,
finds and picks up a gold coin.
We can see its ancient markings, a
youth on a dolphin.
JACQUES looks up. In front of him is a dolphin, floating
vertically, still, apparently just watching. JACQUES isn't
scared anymore. But every time he swims toward the dolphin,
it moves further away. It finally disappears.
INT. HOTEL ROOM - JACQUES - DAY
He sits bolt upright in bed, awakened by his dream. He
looks around the room, trying to get his bearings.
JOHANA is asleep in a chair across the room. On the wall
behind her, her last nights dress is drying on a hanger.
She's wrapped up in a hotel bathrobe fast asleep.
JACQUES finally awake from his dream, sees JOHANA sleeping.
He walks over to her, touches her shoulder.
She wakes up, starts out of the chair. She grabs the
blanket to cover herself, and in doing so, a book falls on
the floor. It's one of his.
JOHANA
You scared me!
JACQUES picks up the book. JOHANA smiles.
JOHANA
Just checking up on your family.
(then embarrassed)
I guess I was drunker than I thought
and the idea of going back to my
hotel in a wet dress... Well...
JACQUES
I'm glad you stayed. Thank you.
JOHANA
(getting up)
I'd better get back now.
JACQUES
You... You wouldn't want to spend
the day with me?
She sits back in her chair, amazed that he would even ask.
JACQUES
(self conscious)
... No?
JOHANA
No? Huh?
(she says "No" as
if she had asked
the question)
Yes, of course!!
EXT. MARINELAND - TAORMINA - DAY
JACQUES and JOHANA enter the dolphinarium. JOHANA is
wearing an old pair of JACQUES SHORTS along with an
oversized T-shirt and rolled up sweater. She seems quite
pleased with her new attire.
JACQUES and JOHANA walk straight through MARINELAND and
head toward the dolphin pool. It's pretty crowded, mostly
kids.
The dolphins are lying motionless at the bottom of the
pool. The trainer is tired of throwing fish in the pool
and getting absolutely no reaction.
JACQUES
What's the matter?
TRAINER
I don't understand. We've tried
for two days. They won't eat.
They won't perform. It's since we
got the new one.
CLOSE ON DOLPHIN
surfacing. It thrusts its head
over the edge of the pool, looks
to JACQUES and SPEAKS.
JACQUES
Is she the new one?
Surprised, the trainer nods.
JOHANA looks over at JACQUES then at the dolphin. She
doesn't understand.
JOHANA
How can you tell it's a female?
JACQUES
... The way she moves.
Three other dolphins gather around the one that JACQUES is
patting.
JACQUES is staring at the female dolphin. It looks like
the animal is trying to tell him something. Suddenly the
dolphin grabs him by the sleeve and pulls him into the
pool.
UNDERWATER - DOLPHIN POOL
JACQUES hangs onto the dolphin's muzzle. Let's it pull
him along. The dolphin swims to a far corner of the pool,
and pulls JACQUES to the bottom. The other dolphins circle
above.
EXT. DOLPHIN POOL - DAY
JACQUES pops up. As he does, three dolphins leap in the
air behind him. JOHANA walks closer to the pool. She is
so excited by what JACQUES is doing, she finally falls
into the pool.
After a while, JACQUES gets out of the pool and helps JOHANA
out.
TRAINER
Did you ever think of trying the
public pool?
JOHANA
He's a dolphin specialist.
TRAINER
In that case what's wrong with the
new one? Is she sick or not.
JACQUES
(taking his time to
answer)
Not the way you mean.
TRAINER
What am I supposed to do? Do I
call the dealer...? The investment,
you understand... I certainly am
entitled to complain!
JACQUES
It's going to cost you more than
you think!
JACQUES turns around and walks off. JOHANA catches up
with him.
JACQUES
She's not like the others. She
can't stand to be away from the
sea.
JOHANA
(impressed)
How do you know that?
JACQUES
(stopping)
I don't know, I just feel it.
INT. HALL - HOTEL - DAY
JACQUES and JOHANA are walking across the corridor.
ENZO walks up to them, followed by his tribe. Everybody
is congratulating him.
ROBERTO is screaming, MAMMA MOLINARI is crying. ENZO smiles
as he talks back to them. He sees JACQUES.
ENZO
(screaming)
Ah! Jacques!
ENZO grabs hold of his shoulders. JACQUES and JOHANA are
completely soaked.
ENZO
Don't be sad, I only took back
what was mine.
He gives JACQUES the diving plaque, it reads 280 feet.
ENZO
Here, it's a present.
JOHANA and JACQUES smile at each other. JACQUES has won
his bet.
JACQUES
(touched)
... Thank you.
ENZO slaps him on the shoulder.
ENZO
(to Johana)
Tonight we're having a little party
among ourselves. 8 o'clock in my
suite?
JOHANA
Okay.
ENZO walks off then turns back toward them. He whispers
in JACQUES' ear.
ENZO
Tell me... Can you explain why you
are soaking wet?
A beat.
JOHANA
... We're in training.
ENZO walks off.
INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR - NIGHT
Three formally dressed officials are waiting in front of
one of the hotel rooms. One of them holds a medal in his
hand, a glass of champagne in the other.
NOVELLI
(through the door)
Mr. Roberto, tell your brother to
be reasonable. Everyone is waiting
for him upstairs. The photographers
are there, the press...
ROBERTO (O.S.)
He can't, he's indisposed.
NOVELLI
(trying to keep his
calm)
Shall we call a doctor?
ROBERTO
No, it's okay. Mamma is going to
try something.
JACQUES and JOHANA walk up from the other side of the hall
and stop in front of the same door.
NOVELLI
Mr. Mayol, help us. He refuses to
receive his medal and everybody is
waiting for him up there. We
already have problems with the
press because of the danger, and
if we don't even have the divers
help...!
JACQUES
(dubious)
... I'll do my best.
NOVELLI
That's very kind of you.
JACQUES knocks on the door.
JACQUES
It's Jacques... Mayol!
A beat. Then ENZO opens the door himself.
ENZO
Jacques! My friend! Come on in!
The officials look at each other baffled.
NOVELLI
Mr. Enzo Molinari, allow me to
impress upon you the importance of
your attending the Award Ceremony...
For the press...
ENZO
(loosing his temper)
I think my brother told you I was
indisposed, that should do it, no?
I'm allowed to be indisposed, right?
So, you just tell the press that
the "big" Enzo Molinari, overwhelmed
by his inspiring descent to 324
feet, will not be able to receive
this trinket because he is...
He looks inquisitively at the three men. ENZO looses his
temper.
ENZO
Because he is?!
ONE OF THE THREE MEN