廊桥遗梦 第五章 英2

孙祎卓

LATER:

　　The clock reads 2:30 AM. The closet has been emptied.

　　Francesca rummages through box after box.

　　Two huge piles have been created -- one for items to be thrownaway, another for items to be kept. Francesca is wiping thebare shelves down with a rag and some cleanser. Looking up tothe bottom of the next shelf, she notices A SHOULDER STRAPhanging, wedged between the wall and the shelf. Pulling overa stool, she steps up to be eye level with the shelf.

　　It is an OLD HANDBAG -- of a style not seen since the fortieswhen she was a young girl. She pulls it down to examine. Itis very dusty and worn, but the snaps still work. She placesit against her side to see if it would still be fashionable.

　　She opens it and finds an old lipstick -- reading the bottomwhere the name of the shade is located.

　　FRANCESCA (cont'd)Ha, they don't even made this coloranymore.

　　She exits the closet and moves to an old mirror, trying thelipstick on. As she decides whether or not she likes it, athought occurs to her... she remembers something.

　　She crosses back to the handbag and feels the inside for acompartment hidden by a flap of material and a snap. Sheunsnaps it and an old BACK & WHITE PHOTO slips out. Shelooks at its image -- two young people against an Italianbackground. Francesca is twenty years younger with her armsaround a handsome, black-haired charmer named --FRANCESCA (V.O.)"Niccolo. I couldn't remember thelast time I had seen that face. Andthen the memories wouldn't stop.

　　Like an avalanche..."CUT TO:

　　FLASHBACK -EXT. NAPLES COUNTRYSIDE, 20 YEARS EARLIER - DAYA hot, breezy summer day. A young vibrant Francesca isstorming through an open field, angry, while Niccolo callsafter her in pursuit.

　　The following scene is played in Italian with subtitles.

　　NICCOLOFrancesca! Francesca! Where the hellare you going?

　　FRANCESCALeave me alone!

　　NICCOLOYou play these games and I'm supposedto follow -- run after you like aschoolboy. Well, I'm not! I'm fed up!

　　Niccolo stops. Several yards ahead of him, Francesca stopsand turns. Suddenly, she storms back towards him until theyare face to face.

　　FRANCESCASo that's it! You just give up!

　　NICCOLOWhat "give up"? You agreed with them!

　　Mommy and Daddy said stay away fromme and you said all right. What am Isupposed to do?

　　FRANCESCAFight for me!

　　Niccolo grabs her violently.

　　NICCOLOENOUGH! You don't know what you want!

　　Stop looking for me to tell you! STOPIT!

　　Francesca knows he's right. He releases her.

　　NICCOLO (cont'd)We can go back now and end it or wecan go back and you tell them off.

　　This is your choice! Not mine. But Iwon't do this anymore. This is forchildren!

　　Frustrated and sad, Francesca sits upon the ground. Niccoloknows she cannot face her parents yet he looks sympathetic.

　　EXT. JOHNSON HOUSE - DAWN 1965Francesca sits on the back porch in her bathrobe, looking outover the pasture as if she were watching the previous scenehappen right before her eyes.

　　In the pasture stands NICCOLO as he was twenty years ago.

　　Memories have overlapped. A field in Naples is now a pasturein Iowa and Niccolo is as real to her as the grass. He isstaring at her seated on the porch of her Iowa home, a womantwenty yards older than when he knew her. He smiles.

　　FRANCESCA (V.O.)"I had forgotten this. I had somehowremembered it being more his fault,his decision. Then I remembered wemade love in that field before weleft for home. And I remembered itwas my idea. I remembered tearinghis shirt and biting his body, hopinghe would kidnap me. I had forgottenthat too. And I wondered, as I satthere... how many other things I'dforgotten."RICHARD (O.S.)Frannie.

　　Startled, Francesca turns as if she were caught in the act.

　　Richard is fully dressed, prepared to start the day.

　　Francesca turns back to the pasture -- Niccolo is gone.

　　CUT TO: