TITLE OVER BLACK: “IN SHANGHAI”
FADE IN:
EXT. SHANGHAI SKYLINE - NIGHT
A bird's-eye view of nighttime in Shanghai. The lights and neon billboards gleam in the darkness. The buildings are black silhouettes eclipsed against the setting sun. Cars speed toward intersections, and traffic lights change from red to green. This is a city that is constantly moving.
EXT. STREET CORNER - NIGHT
Two prostitutes stand on a busy street corner, their long legs crossed and waiting for business. Cars zoom past them and streetlights change.
CUT TO:
EXT. PARK BENCH - NIGHT
A homeless man sleeps on the steps of a convenience store, his mangy dog tied to a pole. The dog is sniffing in a pile of trash.
CUT TO:
EXT. OUTSIDE OF OFFICE BUILDING - NIGHT
A businessman, harried and tired-looking, hails a taxi. The taxi stops and the man gets in the car.
EXT. OUTSIDE OF APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT
A deteriorating apartment complex in a bad part of town. The building is decorated with dying plants, litter, and the underwear of its tenants drying on clothes lines. We hear a MAN and a WOMAN shouting.
The MAN and WOMAN argue stand outside of their car. They argue passionately in Mandarin, voices standing out against the quiet darkness. Through the noise, we hear the faint sound of a CHILD CRYING.
CUT TO:
INT. HAN’S BEDROOM - NIGHT
A small boy lies on his bed, crying. This is YOUNG HAN (4). Throughout the film, the actors speak in Mandarin, with English subtitles.
HAN (V.O.)
There once was a very greedy king...
A woman, dressed in a dirty nightgown, enters the room. This is MAMA(32). She picks up Young Han and sets him in her lap.
HAN (V.O.)
...Who hid the sun from all the people of the world.
Mama begins to comfort Han. We hear her voice beginning to tell the story. Han hiccups and stops crying.
HAN (V.O.)
All the children who were afraid of the
dark were frightened. The world was
filled with blackness.
EXT. STREET CORNER - NIGHT
A car stops by the two prostitutes. One of them leans into the open driver’s window, smiling.
HAN (V.O.)
But one day, a brave man decided to talk to the king.
The man climbed to the top of a hill and he asked if the
king would share the sun with his people.
The prostitute gets into the car and waves good-bye to her friend. The car drives away, and more cars pass by.
CUT TO:
EXT. PARK BENCH - NIGHT
The homeless man’s dog finds a chicken bone in the pile of garbage. It begins to gnaw on the bone, while its owner turns in his sleep.
HAN (V.O.)
The Sun King saw how desperate the
man was, so he made him a deal.
A man walks by and drops a bill into a cup set by the bench.
CUT TO:
EXT. OUTSIDE OF BAR - NIGHT
The taxi pulls up to the sidewalk outside a bar. From inside the building, we can hear the sounds of drinking and yelling. A moment later, the businessman emerges. He looks at the bar for a second, and then enters.
HAN (V.O.)
Instead of letting him have the sun, the king
gave the man a bag filled with light.
CUT TO:
INT. HAN’S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Young Han watches as Mama animatedly tells the story. She uses her hands, building the story in mid-air. He laughs.
HAN (V.O.)
So the man took the bag, and with it he
climbed the tallest tower in the world.
When he got to the top, he opened
the bag. The light escaped, and it scattered
into a thousand stars. The man had
done this, so none of the
little children needed to be afraid
of the dark anymore.
FADE TO BLACK.
OVER BLACK we hear the sounds of machines whirring, a man yelling.
INT. SNOWGLOBE FACTORY - DAY
Han's hands constructing a snow globe. It is an Eiffel Tower snow globe. His hands are dirty, his fingers nimble. He lets them linger on the plastic Eiffel Tower as he is constructing it.
FADE UP to his face. This Han is older, he is now 12. He is skinny and dirty, black hair messy and unkempt.
FADE UP to see that Han is surrounded by many other children - some older, some younger - all doing the same monotonous task.
CUT TO:
INT. BUS - NIGHT
Han's head nods against a window. He is wearing a dirty white T-shirt and a red sweatshirt that is many sizes too big for him. The bus hits a bump, and Han looks up, wearily.
CUT TO:
EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT
Han walks home from the bus stop, hands in his pocket.
Two dressed-up party girls walk in his direction. He lowers his eyes. They pass him and giggle, making gestures as they laugh at his clothes.
Han passes a Western businessman yelling on his cellphone.
Han reaches the gate to his apartment and lets himself in.
CUT TO:
INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT
Han, washing his hands, looks at himself in the cracked mirror. He looks down at his sweatshirt.
CUT TO:
INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT
Han washes clothes in a red basin. He takes out his sweatshirt, now soaked, and looks at it.
CUT TO:
Han is making dinner. He stirs a pot of porridge and ladles it into a bowl. He takes a bottle of pink pills and selects two.
INT. MAMA’S ROOM - NIGHT
Han brings the bowl in to his mother. She is asleep, her face wearing the grey, ashen look of the dying.
HAN
Mama?
Mama shifts in her sleep, and Han touches her shoulder.
HAN (CONT’D)
I brought you supper.
Mama sits up, half-asleep. She takes the pills with water and lets Han spoon the food into her mouth.
INT. HAN’S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Han sits on his bed. In front of him is a tin box, open. The contents of the tin box - a postcard of the Eiffel Tower and a stack of bills - are laid out on the bed.
HAN'S P.O.V. - Han counts through the stack of money. He looks at the postcard, and then puts the items away under his bed. He turns off the light.
CUT TO:
INT. SNOWGLOBE FACTORY - DAY
Han sits working on another Eiffel Tower snow globe. An envelope is placed on his station, and he glances up at a disgruntled-looking man carrying an armful of paycheck envelopes. The man glares at Han before moving on to the next station. Han hurriedly puts the envelope in his pocket.
CUT TO:
INT. BUS - NIGHT
Han sits straight upright, nervous. He is not tired today. He fingers the money in his pocket with a tense expression on his face.
INT. MAMA’S ROOM - NIGHT
Han lets himself in. He is holding another bowl of porridge and the pink pills. He sets the bowl on a bedside table and leans in close to Mama.
HAN
Mama.
Mama opens her eyes wearily. She places a limp hand on Han’s arm.
MAMA
Han.
HAN
I got it, Mama.
He gives Mama her pills and a glass of water already set on the bedside table. Mama takes her medicine.
Han watches her, expectantly. Mama’s smile falters.
HAN (CONT’D)
For the Eiffel Tower trip, I have the money...
MAMA
Oh...
HAN
We’ll bring pillows, blankets. I’ll
make you as comfortable as I can.
MAMA
I’m sick.
Han’s expression is blank. He does not understand.
MAMA (CONT’D)
A few more weeks, we have left together.
Han’s face crumples. He is about to cry.
MAMA (CONT’D)
Staying here... it would be enough.
HAN
But we won’t have any other chances.
MAMA
I won’t. You will.
HAN
It was our story. Ours.
MAMA
A story is a story. You take the money, save it.
When I’m gone, go to a good school. Get a
good job. Travel there with your own
children. If there is a heaven, I will be waiting.
Han does not respond. He looks at Mama, and then leans in and kisses her forehead.
He feeds her dinner.
CUT TO:
INT. HAN’S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Han paces across his tiny bedroom. He is agitated, furious. Suddenly, he pushes himself into the wall of his bedroom. He reaches under his bed for the tin box and throws it across the room, where it ricochets off a wall. The postcard and the bills fall out. Han curls up in the corner, face pressed into his knees.
INT. MAMA’S ROOM - NIGHT
A THUMP from Han’s room. Mama wakes up, alarmed.
MAMA
Han?
CUT TO:
INT. HAN’S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Han lifts his head from his arms. His face is tear-stained and emotionless.
MAMA (O.S.)
Han?
Han does not answer. He leans his head against the wall and closes his eyes.
INT. MAMA’S ROOM - DAY
Han enters the room wearing his red sweatshirt, now clean.
HAN
I’m leaving for work.
No response. Han gently touches Mama’s shoulder. She doesn’t move.
HAN (CONT’D)
Mama?
He touches her again. No response. Han begins to get worried.
HAN (CONT’D)
Mama?
FADE TO BLACK.
OVER BLACKNESS Han keeps saying “Mama?” over and over again.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY
Mama is in a hospital bed. Han stands and watches her, expression blank. He is carrying his tin box. A DOCTOR, young and stern, enters the room.
DOCTOR
You’re the son?
HAN
Yes.
DOCTOR
Her heart gave out.
DOCTOR (CONT’D)
I’m sorry.
HAN
Mama? I’m sorry.
INT. FUNERAL HOME - DAY
A FUNERAL DIRECTOR leads Han, still carrying his tin box, through a selection of urns. Most are very plain, but some are beautiful and elaborately made. He gestures to Han, his demeanor suave and businesslike. Han is only half-listening.
FUNERAL DIRECTOR
And over here we have the best, yes? Although you
would be looking for a cheaper one?
HAN
I would like the best.
FUNERAL DIRECTOR
And where is that money going to come from?
Han hands him the tin box.
EXT. HAN’S BEDROOM WINDOW - NIGHT
Han leans out his open bedroom window, looking at the night. The sounds of city life roll by - dogs barking, people yelling, car engines starting.
HAN'S P.O.V. - He looks at the postcard of the Eiffel Tower, dangling from his fingers onto the busy street below.
Han retreats from his window.
INT. HAN’S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Han walks over to a desk and pulls a chair across his room, back to the window.
He steps on it cautiously at first, as if testing his weight - then bravely, as he eases himself onto the window ledge.
EXT. HAN’S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Han is framed against the window, his silhouette black against the burning lights. He is still holding the postcard.
Grasping the window frame with one hand, Han holds up the postcard to the sky.
HAN'S P.O.V. - Han’s hand holding the postcard against the dark night sky. All around the Eiffel Tower, stars wink and waver brilliantly.
Han smiles.
FADE OUT.
