CHRISTMAS LOVE STORY by C. Munteanu.pdf

8/20/2019 CHRISTMAS LOVE STORY by C. Munteanu.pdf

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Christmas love story

- Screenplay –

by Constantin MUNTEANU

(Protected: ProtectRite)

Contact: [email protected]


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INT. AIRPLANE – DAY

The interior of a transcontinental airplane. In the plane one can

feel the atmosphere of Christmas approaching.

MIHAI, a 45-50 years old man, is gazing out the window. Down below

there’s the ocean. Near Mihai, a child’s voice.

THE CHILD (voice off)

Mommy, where are we going to spend Christmas?

Mihai looks at the child and smiles.

INT. A PARTY HEADQUARTERS – NIGHT

Great commotion. It is the night following the presidential

elections. Television crews are broadcasting live. All those

present are holding champagne glasses in their hands. There’s an

audio signal. On a big screen, numbers are changing, and a new

number is displayed: 52.6%. Those present clap their hands. ANDREI,

a 50 years old man, is being congratulated. He comes up to Mihai.

ANDREI

By the way, I didn’t even ask you: where are you spending

Christmas?

MIHAIIn Texas. Visiting my daughter.

ANDREI

No way! Now of all times you’re leaving me?!

MIHAI

(points to the screen)

I’ve done my job. By the way, the deal was you would give

me some money if you went over 50%.

ANDREI

Sure, sure. Let me find the party treasurer, I’ll tellhim to put some money on your credit card. Don’t worry

about it.

(points to the entrance, where THE CONSUL and two

other men have appeared)

Oh, look, the two bosses from the InterMed Company.

MIHAI

If they want to know why you rejected their sponsorship,

tell them I have forbidden you from accepting any money

from businessmen.


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ANDREI

The one in the middle is the consul.

MIHAI

Nice! He’ll be the first diplomat to congratulate you.

ANDREI

Or reprimand me for having refused the counselors hesuggested.

MIHAI

Tell him that no one understands the problems of a

country better than a writer.

ANDREI

He might deny your visa. Just as well, we’ll spend

Christmas together.

(irony)

No! I’ll ask him to grant you your visa. At least I’ll

have a peaceful Christmas. Even in my sleep I keephearing your constant nagging. You’re like a mother-in-

law …

MIHAI

Go greet them. Your tie…

ANDREI

What’s that?

MIHAI

You’re about to become the President of the country. You

can no longer walk around with your collar open.

ANDREI

Mother-in-law…


Mihai undoes the first button of his shirt and takes off his suit

jacket. He reclines comfortably in the chair and closes his eyes.

He wants to sleep.

INT. WAITING ROOM, THE US EMBASSY – DAY

Mihai is sitting in a chair with his eyes closed. His collar is

open and his jacket is on his lap. He’s asleep.

VOICE (OFF)

Mister Mihai Codreanu, counter 4.

Mihai opens his eyes,gets up from the chair and fixes his clothes.

INT. WAITING ROOM, COUNTER 4 – DAY


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THE CONSUL

Who are you visiting in Austin?

MIHAI

My daughter is a prosecutor. She specializes in fighting

organized crime.

THE CONSUL

Do you know who the Governor of Texas is?

MIHAI

I know who used to be, before becoming President…

THE CONSUL

Does the name Margherita Donbario tell you anything?

MIHAI

No. Who’s that?

THE CONSUL

Didn’t your daughter tell you who she’s working for, whatshe’s doing there?

MIHAI

No. I don’t care to know about the files she’s working

on, the same way I taught her not to meddle with my

manuscripts.

THE CONSUL

Manuscripts?

(glances at Mihai’s passport)

Amazing! You are Mihai Codreanu the writer.

MIHAI

Yes I am.

THE CONSUL

You know, I’ve really been wondering how the writer who

stood behind President Andrei Manole looks like.

MIHAI

He’ll only be President after taking the oath of office.

THE CONSUL

And aren’t you going to be there for the swearing inceremony? I didn’t see you at the Election Day

festivities either.

MIHAI

A good counselor always stays in the shadow.

THE CONSUL

I hope I’ll meet you again at the President’s office.

MIHAI


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If you should need me, look for me behind Andrei. Sorry!

Behind President Andrei Manole.

THE CONSUL

You don’t need to be so formal. I understand. You’re

friends…

MIHAI

We went to junior high together. And we were very goodfriends. He dreamt of becoming a writer. My dream was to

travel, to see the world. But fate would have it the

other way round. My friend has been traveling all over

the world, with his business. I got stuck to my writing

desk. The only longer trip I ever took was the one to

China.

THE CONSUL

China?

MIHAI

By the Trans-Siberian train. A long time ago, before ’89.This will be the second time I leave the country. That

is, if you grant me the entrance visa to the US.

THE CONSUL

(hands him the passport)

Have a nice trip!

INT. CAR – NIGHT

Behind the wheel is PINOCCHIO, 50 years old, a man with a long

nose. Next to him, Mihai is listening to the song “December”

performed by Nicu Alifantis.

PINOCCHIO

What a trip, Mihai! Five days. I stopped in Vienna on my

way to Germany, and also when I came back with the truck

full of clothes. 10 tons of clothes, that I got almost

for free. Next time I’m taking you with me.

MIHAI

I’m not going to Vienna.

PINOCCHIO

Yes! You have to meet them, to talk to them. Otherwisethey’ll keep asking you for money. You’ll be paying them

debts until the end of your days.

MIHAI

Pinocchio, let me listen to the song.

PINOCCHIO

Stop annoying me. Pinocchio is the name of our used

clothes store.


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MIHAI

Listen, Dumitru, the store is yours. I didn’t have time

for business lately.

PINOCCHIO

Anyway, I’m taking you to Vienna. You need to have a talk

with Mrs. Ana’s family.

MIHAI (irony)

The great Vienna family… Listen how beautiful this song

is. You can almost feel the snow covering you… Do you

remember how we used to spend Christmas together? Our

wives baking lots of cookies, the children decorating the

Christmas tree…

PINOCCHIO

(hands him an envelope)

Your share. The last shipment was a good one. Only

expensive clothes. The animal rights activists wait for

women at the exit of theatres or restaurants and throwpaint on their fur coats.

(points to the cardboard box on the back seat of the

car)

I have a surprise… Secondhand life! Just like in your

novel…

EXT. THE YARD OF A HOUSE – NIGHT

A country house. The car has stopped in front of the house.

Pinocchio takes out the cardboard box.

PINOCCHIOAt first, I didn’t think you were in your right mind

either. The campaign you were organizing for Andrei

seemed more like a book launch. Thousands of books given

to voters for free… Then I realized you were actually

trying to instill in people’s minds the idea of a

firsthand president.

MIHAI

Our voters have become allergic to promises.

INT. MIHAI’S APARTMENT – NIGHT

A writer’s apartment. On the walls, nothing but bookshelves, many

books all around. A writing desk, a computer, armchairs. In a

corner, packages of copies of the novel Secondhand life. On thedesk, several copies of a fashion album. Pinocchio comes in

carrying the cardboard box.

MIHAI

(points to the bookshelf with his books)

When you’re a writer, you don’t sell people the promise

that you’re going to write a great book. You come in


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front of the reader with what you’ve already written.

And that was my advice to Andrei too, to show people what

he has already accomplished. Facts, not promises.

Pinocchio sets aside a few book packages.

PINOCCHIO

I’ll put them up for sale in the store. Who knows, maybe

you’ll get some money out of it… Now that the electioncampaign is over, I’m going to change the name of the

store. I don’t like “Pinocchio’s” anymore. I’ll call it

“Secondhand life”!

(takes a fur coat out of the box)

It’s for Miss Cristina. She’s going to love it. It’s a

Fendi. It would be a shame to sell it for nothing.

(takes out a jacket with the Bugatti label on the

inside)

This is for you. They’ve already been cleaned. My wife

took care of it.

MIHAIBugatti?!

PINOCCHIO

It has already snowed in New York. The jacket is new.

Only here, under the arms, there are two small holes.

MIHAI

(puts on the jacket and looks at himself in the

mirror)

Dumitre, what a great gift!

PINOCCHIOTo match this gorgeous suit that Miss Ina made for you.

She’s got talent, this girl. I bet she has many talents…

MIHAI

You know I don’t like this kind of talk.

PINOCCHIO

(points to Ina’s photo on the back cover of the

album)

Do you expect me to believe that you let a beautiful girl

like that get away? You of all people?! Seeing the two of

you sitting side by side all day long working on thatalbum… I thought I was hearing wedding bells.

MIHAI

I wish… These young girls are like doves. Once their

wings have grown, you have got to let them fly… Thank you

again for the Bugatti.

PINOCCHIO

At least you’ll be elegant. I heard there’re a lot of

wealthy widows in the States…


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Mihai has finished putting on his jacket. The passengers are

already getting off the plane.

INT. AIRPORT – DAY

The waiting room of the Austin Airport. Great commotion. Christmasatmosphere. CRISTINA, a 25-30 years old woman, is restless.

GIUSEPPE, a 25-30 years old man, is also waiting. Mihai appears

dragging a large wheeled bag.

CRISTINA

Daddy, daddy…

Cristina hugs her father.

CRISTINA

(points to Giuseppe)

This is my friend and colleague Giuseppe.

Mihai and Giuseppe shake hands.

GIUSEPPE

Montealbo. Giuseppe Montealbo.

MIHAI

Viva Italia! You seem more like a character from aVisconti movie than a prosecutor specializing in catching

mobsters.

GIUSEPPEAnd you seem more like a gentleman on a diplomatic

mission than the unconventional writer your daughter has

been telling me about.

INT. CAR – DAY

Giuseppe is driving. Cristina and Mihai are sitting in the back

seat.

CRISTINA

(points to the Christmas decorated buildings the car

is driving by)This is downtown Austin.

MIHAI

I can’t wait to visit it.

CRISTINA

Did you bring me the novel “Teona”?

GIUSEPPE


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About that gynecologist lady doctor that would chill

prosecutors and policemen?

CRISTINA

I told Giuseppe about this lady doctor, how she put

prosecutors and policemen in their place and how she

terrorized the women who came in to see her with

hemorrhages…

MIHAI

(sadness)

I’d rather not talk about it.

CRISTINA

Sorry…

GIUSEPPE

Cristina tells me that your women characters are

exquisitely beautiful.

CRISTINA (irony)

And his love scenes…

(to her father)

I’d like to read to my colleagues that scene in which the

young man fucks the lady doctor. These Americans seem to

believe that it’s them who invented the hardcore sex

scenes.

MIHAI

“Fucks her”… What a language… If this is all you

understood from my novel, I’m sorry I bothered to carry

it all this way.

CRISTINA

(pause)

I’m sorry! I’m going to read to my colleagues, young men

and women like myself, about “the beautiful moment of

love, a real poem, which thaws the soul of a woman

burdened with hate and meanness, a true Bolshevik

officer”. See I remember the critical reviews of your

novel?

MIHAI

Alright…

CRISTINA

“And after having thawed her, and even made her burn in

the sacred fire of carnal love, the author kills her.”

GIUSEPPE

And wasn’t he punished for it?

CRISTINA


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Giusé… It’s about the character of one of daddy’s mostcontroversial novels.

MIHAI

(points Giuseppe to Cristina)

He’s right, you know. No crime should go unpunished. In

their old age, writers have nightmares. They are haunted

by the characters they killed.

CRISTINA

Oh, daddy, you’re not old.

MIHAI

Right, I’m just ripe for marriage.

GIUSEPPE

You won’t have any luck here in Austin. All the Sabine

women have already been raped.

(stops the car)

Here we are…

EXT. THE ENTRANCE TO AN APARTMENT BUILDING – DAY

Street sign: Lavaca Street. The car has stopped in front of an

apartment building. Giuseppe takes the luggage out of the trunk.

MIHAI

You told me you lived in a campus residence.

CRISTINA

I moved out quite some time ago.

GIUSEPPENot everyone is so lucky to have a boss like Rita… This

is the safest neighborhood.

CRISTINA

Somewhere a little farther there’s the governor’s house.

INT. CRISTINA’S ROOM – DAY

An attic room. A bed, a couch, a table, a door to the bathroom,

another table in the corner where the kitchen is. Mihai looks

admiringly around the room. Giuseppe comes in carrying the heavy

luggage bag.

GIUSEPPE

Signore Michele, I believe it’s that hardcore scene thatmakes this bag so heavy.

CRISTINA

Giusé…

MIHAI

In my novels, all love scenes carry weight.


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CRISTINA

Thanks for your help. Shall we all have a cup of coffee?

GIUSEPPE

No, thanks, I have to go finish up a file… I’ll let you

enjoy your time together. Signore Michele, tomorrowCristina will show you around the town, and tomorrow

evening you are both my guests at the restaurant on MontBonell, where we’ll admire together Colorado from above

and we’ll have a large steak, Texas style.

MIHAI

Steak? At your age, I had different tastes: doves, swans…

Until I found a nightingale…

CRISTINA

Daddy, what will Giuseppe think?

GIUSEPPE

Signore Michelle, now I know we have common ancestors.Vivat ginta latina! I can only imagine how many Sabinewomen these arms must have raped…

They hug. Giuseppe leaves. Cristina looks at the open luggage bag.

CRISTINA

I asked you not to bring me anything. I find everything I

need here.

MIHAI

(points to a jar)

Even that?

CRISTINA

Tomato paste?!

MIHAI

(opens the lid)

Just the label.

Mihai lifts up the jar. Just like a child, Cristina dips her

pointing finger into the jar and than puts it into her mouth.

CRISTINADaddy! Bitter cherry jam… But… What if they had found it

at the customs?!

MIHAI

Look how perfectly wrapped they are. You could swear they

come straight from the manufacturer.

CRISTINA

I thought I told you you’re not allowed to bring food

over the border.


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MIHAI

(points to a bottle)

Food? This is amber. “Grasă de Cotnari”. This is the wine

all the great rules of our country used to drink when

they celebrated their victories against the Tartars or

the Ottoman Empire.

(pause)

Now we give everything to the empires around us, evenourselves.

CRISTINA

Daddy, please… I know you haven’t forgotten… The trial

against mother’s relatives… I understand they’ve taken

everything from you…

MIHAI

No one ever came to my country to give something…

CRISTINA

No politics! OK?

MIHAI

No politics, no wine, no women, since all the Sabine

women have already been raped… I guess there’s nothing

else for me to do than wander around and see the city.

In the luggage bag there are a few copies of the fashion album.

CRISTINA

Daddy, daddy, what a surprise! I was going to ask you to

bring me a few more albums. The one you mailed me goes

from hand to hand among my colleagues. They all want toread the texts that accompany the pictures of Ina’s

designs. Some of them have even made copies of the

comment on the essence of sex. I spent an entire night

translating it into English, because I wanted my

translation to render exactly what you meant to say. Your

protégée Ina is very talented.

(admires Mihai’s elegance)

What an elegant suit! Did Ina make this jacket too? Oh,

Bugatti… The Pinocchio brand, I presume?

MIHAI

And you still wonder why the most fashionable novel inour country is called “Secondhand life”…

CRISTINA

(points to the photo of the album’s author on the back

cover)

You didn’t have to come all this way to find beautiful

women… Or you should have brought her with you. Say, why

didn’t you bring Ina too? I did offer to provide her with

an affidavit of support too, didn’t I? Wouldn’t that have

been great?


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MIHAI

After the success of this album, Ina was invited to go to

London. She’s involved in organizing the London Fashion

Week with her new… love interest.

CRISTINA

What love interest?

MIHAI

Ina is gay.

CRISTINA

(pause)

And I thought that you… being single and all… and Ina,

young, single too…

(pause)

Do you want to know the truth? I was really happy for

you.

MIHAIMy time is past. Let’s set the table.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. CRISTINA’S ROOM – NIGHT

On the table there are empty plates, two glasses and the bottle of

wine. Mihai is lying on the couch.

Cristina comes out of the bathroom. Cristina sits on the edge of

the couch.

CRISTINAJust like old times. When I want to remember something

beautiful, I think of those nights when we stayed up late

talking… Do you remember how you used to tell me stories?

MIHAI

What story shall I tell you tonight? “Little Red Riding

Hood”?

CRISTINA

“The Bear Tricked by the Fox”. I always fell asleep

before you got to finish the story. And after I’d fall

asleep, you’d get up and go to your writing desk…(lies on the couch beside her father)

I feel like a kid again… And safe…

MIHAI

(kisses her on the back of her neck)

You’re sad.

CRISTINA

(pause)

If you only knew what a brutal world I have to deal with…


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MIHAI

Is it that bad?

CRISTINA

Bad is not the right word… Now I’m laughing about it, but

during those first few days… I was sent to work under the

toughest prosecutor; the “stone-faced woman”,

unbelievably inflexible… The very first day, she took mewith her to cross-examine a pimp accused of having

kidnapped a little girl. The pimp was looking at us and

making sexual hints… The entire investigation seemed like

a game…

INT. THE INTERROGATION ROOM – DAY

THE PIMP, a Caucasian man of about 40-45 years old, is sitting on

a chair, checking out Cristina and Rita. RITA is a 40 years old

mulatto woman, beautiful and stately.

THE PIMPOne white, one black… Good looking both…

Rita is circling him with slow strides. Suddenly, she grabs him by

the back of his neck and smashes his face against the table. The

pimp strives to escape her grip. Cristina watches the scene with a

terrified look on her face. She notices that Rita’s other hand is

squeezing the pimp’s penis.

RITA

The address… The address… Did you hear me? The address…

The pimp says something.

RITA

Say it again! Louder!

THE PIMP

Cactus street… 6… the basement…

RITA

(sadness, distress)

The basement…

INT. BASEMENT

A nightmare atmosphere. A corridor with doors on both sides. Each

keyhole has a key in it. We see from the back a 10-12 years old

girl running towards the dark end of the corridor. She’s holding a

gun in her hand. She drops the gun. She stops, picks the gun up,

puts it in the pocket of her dress and starts running again.

INT. THE INTERROGATION ROOM – DAY


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Rita smashes again the pimp’s face against the table, than lifts

up his head. The pimp’s face is covered in blood.

THE PIMP

I want a lawyer.

RITA

I’ll get you an electric chair instead. Pray to God, if

you have one, that I find that little girl alive. If Idon’t, I swear I’ll fry you.

EXT. CAR – DAY

Rita rushes to the car. Cristina is a few steps behind her. They

both get in the back seat. In the front seats sit two policemen.

RITA

Cactus Street, 6 !

The car speeds off.


CRISTINA

(goes on with her story)

When we got there, we found a little girl locked up in a

room in the basement. Oh, dear God! That night, I locked

myself in my campus room and I cried… If I had had enough

money, I would have taken the first flight back to

Europe.

(pause)

The next morning, I got an unexpected visit from my boss.

“How did you sleep?”, she asked me. “I slept just fine”,I answered. I pretended to be strong and cool about what

had happened the day before. I believe the boss liked me.

No one lasted more than six months working with Rita. And

I’ve been working with her for a year and a half now.

Then she helped me move here. This place is more central

and safer.

MIHAI

So your boss isn’t bad all the time.

CRISTINA

Oh, no… She’s tough, but just. Some time ago, two marriedjournalists were accused of having adopted an Asian child

without all the proper papers. My boss took the case, and

she helped them keep the baby. Daddy, will you tell me a

story?

MIHAI

Only if you promise to go to sleep.

CRISTINA

I promise.


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MIHAI

Once upon a time, there was a big grumpy bear and a

cunning and tricky little red fox… On the path along the

forest, there passed an old peasant with a cart full of

fish… The little fox was famished. It lied down in the

middle of the road and pretended to be dead. The peasant

stopped the cart, grabbed the fox by the tail and threw

it on top of the fish pile… “I’m gonna use its coat tomake a nice collar for my old lady”, he said to himself…

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. CRISTINA’S ROOM – MORNING

Cristina is sleeping on the couch. Mihai is lying on the bed

staring at the ceiling. He looks sad.

CRISTINA

(wakes up)

Good morning!

MIHAI

You are my morning, my dear little dove.

CRISTINA

Your little dove has long became an eagle, daddy. I feel

so exhilarated when I accompany the police on some

mission and they let me put the handcuffs on the bad guy

they’ve arrested and read him his rights…

MIHAI

Do you really like your job?

CRISTINA

Do you still doubt it?

MIHAI

Last night…

CRISTINA

Maybe it was the wine… Or the childhood memories… Come

on, get up. First we’ll have breakfast, then we’ll go

sightseeing.

EXT. AUSTIN – DAY

Cristina and Mihai are walking around the center of the city.

CRISTINA

I’ve been following the presidential race on the

internet. What did you tell the voters that you were so

successful?

MIHAI


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I spoke to them about love.

CRISTINA

What?

MIHAI

Like in the Bible. When the Apostle Paul said to the

Corinthians that if there’s not love, there’s nothing. To

the peasants, I spoke about the love for one’s land; tothe intellectuals, about the love for culture; to the

retired people, about the love that comes from raising

one’s grandsons without the worry for tomorrow. And I

offered them all signed copies of my book. Thousands and

thousands of books.

(points proudly to his middle finger)

I’ve got blisters on this finger from signing so many

autographs… You can find my novel Secondhand Life allover the country…

INT. AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY – DAY

Mihai and Cristina are wandering around the great hall of the

Austin Public Library.

CRISTINA

I read in the papers that it was an atypical electoral

campaign.

MIHAI

(points to the books around)

People are searching for themselves in the books they

read. It’s the same thing with elections. People want to

find themselves in the concerns of the candidate. I triedeach time to reach the soul of those who listened to my

words. I introduced Andrei as the man they had all been

waiting for…

EXT. AUSTIN, CENTER – DAY

CRISTINA

You lied to them?

MIHAI

Not at all. I revealed my political credo to them; modern

society cannot move forward unless it’s based on threepillars: Power, Truth, and Justice. I offered them the

certitude that Andrei knows how to do things in a right

and just manner. Excuse me one moment.

Mihai goes to an ATM machine, inserts the card, presses a few keys

and looks at the screen. He seems disappointed.

CRISTINA

If you need money, I’ve got some on me…


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MIHAI

I do too, Pinocchio gave me some. We’re still living

under the sign of the secondhand. I was expecting some

money… A larger sum…

CRISTINA

And what if Andrei Manole deceives your expectations? Is

he worth it?

MIHAI

Do you want to know the truth? No politician is ever

worth a writer’s sacrifice.

CRISTINA

Then why did you take so many chances on him?

MIHAI

Writers greater than I risked their lives in the battles

of their time: Cervantes at Lepanto, Byron at

Missolonghi… And they didn’t do it for the army leader.

CRISTINA

(graveness)

Daddy, the times have changed. Why do you think America

has come such a long way? People are valued here to their

true worth.

MIHAI

Do you think I wasn’t valued? My novel was published in

thousands of copies.

CRISTINA

And you gave it for free to people who may never evenread it. You even signed autographs. And all this for

your friend’s campaign. “No politician is ever worth a

writer’s sacrifice”… You said it! And what did you get

out of this campaign?

MIHAI

The satisfaction of having helped elect the best

president.

CRISTINA

The best of whom?

MIHAI

Of those with money. You cannot have an electoral

campaign without money. Except maybe in the primitive

societies, when they elected their tribe chief.

CRISTINA

People are looking at us… Let’s go home. We have to get

ready for the restaurant.

EXT. MOUNT BONELL – EVENING


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Mihai is walking on Mount Bonell. Cristina and Giuseppe are

walking beside him.

GIUSEPPE

Signore Michele, I see a happy smile on your face. I’mglad you like it here in our new hometown.

MIHAII like being here with you. But our “home” is in Europe.

Are you by any chance planning to stay here?

INT. RESTAURANT

Mihai, Cristina and Giuseppe are sitting at a table.

GIUSEPPE

All my childhood I dreamt of becoming an actor, of

starring in movies… My father had a small meat products

factory in the most charming place on earth, Sicily. We

also raised pigs, hundreds of pigs. I used to take thepigs to pasture, and while watching them I’d recite

poems… One day, two men came to see my father and told

him he had to pay a protection fee. He said no. A few

days later, we found all our pigs dead. My father had a

heart attack. He had taken a large loan from the bank and

now he had no way to pay it back. So we found ourselves

poor and deeply in debt. The bank took our farm, our

house…

MIHAI

I’m sorry to hear that…

GIUSEPPE

How about you, how did you let such a beautiful girl

become a prosecutor?

CRISTINA

If I had become an actress, would we have ever met?

(pause)

Some 200 years ago, my country was being plundered by the

surrounding empires.

MIHAI

As it is now too.

CRISTINA

(to Mihai)

Please… We talked about this: no politics.

(to Giuseppe)

Those who battled against the plunderers local or

foreign, the outlaws, lived hidden in the woods, and they

would come out only to strike down their enemies. They

were called the Codreni, which actually means woodsmen. I

am the descendant of such a hero outlaw, Vlad Codreanu.


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20

MIHAI

By half. The scrupulousness and the tenacity with which

she pursues her goals come from her mother’s side.

GIUSEPPE

She told me. The opera singer of German descent. But I

think that her beauty and her soul come from us Latins.

CRISTINA

Thank you!


Cristina and Mihai come in.

CRISTINA

Thank you!

(Mihai looks confused)

For the nice things you said about mother’s origin.

MIHAI

I couldn’t deny the qualities of the people that accounts

for the other half of who you are.

CRISTINA

I sometimes speak on the phone with mother’s relatives.

They’ll be glad to hear what you said.

MIHAI

I’d rather you talk about the weather. Your mother’s

relatives in Vienna only know how to come and take stuff.

CRISTINA

The law…

MIHAI

Taking is all they know. Why didn’t they come to save

your mother when the crooked law of our country sent her

to a sure death?! Why did they remain silent when

thousands of women were being condemned to an untimely

death?

CRISTINA

Daddy, it was a long time ago. There comes an age whenpeople should become more tolerant.

MIHAI

I sent you here to learn how to be intolerant!

CRISTINA

Intransigent. It’s a totally different thing. Please

remember that! Intransigent.

(pause)


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21

Tomorrow morning I’m taking you to see where I work…

meet my colleagues… have them meet you… They’re all young

people my age.

(joke)

No Sabine woman worth being raped by a gentleman like

yourself…

INT. THE ENTRANCE HALL OF A GOVERNMENTAL BUILDING – MORNING

Many people in front of the elevator door. Cristina makes a sign

to her father to wait. She goes toward a door. The elevator

arrives. The door of the elevator opens. The people waiting go in.

From the entrance comes Rita. Mihai holds the elevator door. When

Rita arrives in front of the elevator door, Mihai makes an elegant

gesture, courteously inviting her to step in. The people in the

elevator seem uncomfortable with Rita’s presence – it is obvious

they don’t appreciate her company. Rita doesn’t seem too impressed

by Mihai’s gesture. After she gets into the elevator, she makes

room for Mihai to step in too. Mihai makes a sign that he is

waiting for someone. Cristina arrives carrying a pile of files.

CRISTINA

Look how many I’ve got. I have a long day ahead of me.

MIHAI

Maybe I should leave then…

CRISTINA

Please… This won’t take long, I just want to introduce

you to my colleagues. They are all anxious to meet a

writer who got to experience the interrogation rooms of

the Romanian political police.

MIHAI

Oh, no… don’t spoil my morning with bad memories.

CRISTINA

To meet the person who wrote the texts in Ina’s album

then. “The essence of sex” divided my colleagues into two

camps: the girls say the first part is the most valuable,

“not pleasure, which is so transient and fleeting, but

children”. My male colleagues are always quoting the

second part, “the exorcising of evil”…

The elevator door opens. Mihai and Cristina are in the middle of agroup of people who go into the elevator.

INT. OFFICE – DAY

Mihai is surrounded by a group of Cristina’s colleagues.

GIUSEPPE

Here he is. Ask him.

YOUNG WOMAN #1


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22

Does writing literature pay well?

MIHAI

No, not at all. Our country has been flooded by fast food

type subproducts, things suitable only for reading in a

train or a bus, or at the breakfast table, magazines and

novels of no value whatsoever, as toxic as food

additives.

YOUNG MAN #1

So why do you keep writing?

MIHAI

If I found an answer to this question, be sure I wouldn’t

be writing anymore.

YOUNG WOMAN #2

(points at Ina’s album)

I absolutely loved that chapter on childhood.

YOUNG MAN #1I think you liked more that quote about the essence of

sex.

(to Mihai)

She’s got four kids.

YOUNG WOMAN #2

It’s the most beautiful text in the entire album. It’s

the better definition of sex ever.

YOUNG MAN #1

I bet that such a great theorist was an expert in the

practical field as well.

GIUSEPPE

“Was”… This is an insult to out Latin blood…

Laughter. YOUNG MAN #2 points to a page of the album with a

picture showing a file of children coming out of a garden. The

children have cherries in their hands. Two little girls have their

faces painted in black, like pirates.

YOUNG WOMAN #2

(points to the text under the photo)

“The essence of sex is not pleasure, which is sotransient and fleeting, but children, who make us feel

eternal.”

YOUNG MAN #2

(points to the Young woman #2)

With four kids, your eternity is a sure thing.

YOUNG MAN #1


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23

And I don’t think you felt no pleasure while making

them. Or that you didn’t exorcise some of your own demons

while doing it…

Laughter. Mihai notices Rita, who has stopped to listen to their

conversation.

YOUNG WOMAN #1

(to Mihai)We were hoping you’d bring Miss Ina along with you.

MIHAI

She’s in London now. She’s working for a big fashion

house. She’s going to compete in the London Fashion Week

in February.

YOUNG WOMAN #1

I would have loved to have my wedding dress designed by

her.

GIUSEPPEWho knows, she might have even made a pass at you… My

unfailing intuition tells me she’s gay.

Pause. The men look at Ina’s photo. Then they all look at Mihai,

who nodes in approval. Mihai notices Rita walking away.

CRISTINA

Excuse us… I want to show my dad the office.

VOICE (off)

Just don’t introduce him to the boss, or she might start

an investigation on him. She’ll find a reason, she alwaysdoes.

GIUSEPPE

Guys, you’re scaring our guest.

MIHAI

It’s worse than when I was being investigated by the

communist police…

YOUNG MAN #1

Yeah! Why don’t you tell us about that…

CRISTINA

These issues concern only us…

GIUSEPPE

“Tempi passati!”

MIHAI

(whispers to Giuseppe)


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24

I’m afraid these wounds are still bleeding. Otherwise,

you’d have stayed in your own country and become an

actor…

INT. CRISTINA’S OFFICE – DAY

Mihai is sitting in a chair. Cristina brings in a tray with coffee

cups and glasses of water.

CRISTINA

I asked the secretary to let me know when we can go in to

see my boss. Please be especially polite to her. But most

of all reserved. She doesn’t like men.

MIHAI

And I don’t like women…

CRISTINA

God damned! Daddy, please…

MIHAIYou heard what Giuseppe said: all the Sabine women around

here have already been raped.

CRISTINA

And the only ones left know nothing but investigate…

Mihai is drinking his coffee. Cristina is going through her files.

Rita comes in.

RITA

Cristina, I need the file…

Rita stops. She looks at Mihai, who has got up from his chair with

an elegant gesture. She scrutinizes him with a cold gaze.

INT. THE BASEMENT ROOM – TERRIFYING MOMENT

We can only see THE CLIENT, a 55-60 years old male, who has just

entered the basement room. The client looks a little like Mihai;

cheerful, elegantly dressed.

INT. CRISTINA’S OFFICE - DAY

Rita startles. She recomposes herself and says, pointing to thefiles.

RITA

…the Samuel Stevenson file.

CRISTINA

I’ll read it one more time and bring it to you.

(makes the introductions)

My father, Ms Margherita Donbario, my boss.


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25

Mihai gazes at Rita for a few more seconds, then bows elegantly,

but also courteously to her.

Rita holds out her hand in a formal manner, but suddenly she

decides to do it more elegantly, in the French style.

RITA

Margherita Donbario. I’m just an older colleague of your

beautiful and intelligent daughter.

MIHAI

(takes Rita’s hand into his palms and kisses it

elegantly)

Mihai. Mihai Codreanu. I’m the father of this young lady

who decided to follow into my ancestor’s footsteps.

RITA

Vlad. Vlad Codreanu, the love child of a ruler who was

killed by the Turkish soldiers when they came to put

their own man on the throne.

Mihai and Cristina exchange surprised looks.

RITA

A good prosecutor must always have accurate and up-to-

date information.

Mihai gives Rita a long gaze. He decides to retort, a sort of “do

you want to play, let’s play then”.

MIHAI

A good writer, even when he doesn’t have access to

information, can always assume. I bet you too have among

your paternal ancestors a great African warrior, whofought lions with his bare hands, and that your mother’s

line descends from both Aphrodite and Nemesis. Nemesis

being…

RITA

…The ancient Greeks’ goddess of justice and retribution

against one’s enemies.

MIHAI

And I also assume, no, I’m quite sure about it, that

prosecutor Margherita Donbario solves all her difficult

cases quickly and efficiently, as this gorgeous outfitattests it.

Rita looks confused. Mihai explains.

MIHAI

If you found yourself unable to solve a major case, I’m

sure you would, like queen Isabella of Spain, put on a

white dress and not take it off until victory day.

RITA


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27

I prefer to call it flirting. It’s the first step

towards love.

Cristina watches nervously the dialogue of the two.

RITA

And what if your flirting is rejected?

MIHAIIt can only happen if there aren’t any flowers to go with

it. And when I don’t have flowers, I use poetry.

Unfortunately, all the poems I know are in my mother

tongue.

RITA

I’m really sorry for the women in your country.

MIHAI

It will be my pleasure to take you there, so you could

ask them yourself how they feel about it.

RITA

No, thanks. I’ll take your word for it. Cristina

translated for me some of the texts that accompany the

photos in the album of that young artist, Ina. Your

daughter gave me the digital format of the album. My

little girls and I often look on the computer at the

photos of the children, especially the one in which they

are dressed as pirates. What did you use to paint their

faces?

MIHAI

Bitter cherries.

RITA

Bitter cherries? Oh, yes, I think I know what you’re

talking about, they’re small, black and taste very

bitter.

MIHAI

Since I didn’t bring you any flowers, although I should

have, since you are my daughter’s mentor, please allow me

to send you a jar of bitter cherry jam.

RITAThank you, but I can buy it at the store.

MIHAI

Better than the one I made with my own hands? No way!

RITA

You made it yourself? And how did you get it through the

customs?

MIHAI


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28

What would you be doing all day long if everybody obeyed

the law?

RITA

I’d be out of work, I guess.

(to Cristina)

Please watch him. He’s a potential criminal.

MIHAIAll novel writers are essentially criminals. They steal

something from everyone they meet. I haven’t decided yet

what I’m going to steal from you. The grandeur of your

gestures? The firmness of your voice? I think I’ll prefer

the brightness of your eyes.

Rita fixes him again with her eyes.All this time, Mihai displays a

friendly and elegant smile, like the smile of a skilled diplomat.

RITA

I’m sorry… I’m missing something here… Tell me, was there

a woman prosecutor as well among those who investigatedyou for writing that pamphlet against the communist

regime?

MIHAI

Only officers of the political police. At that time, our

prosecutors were much too busy with pregnant women…

RITA

Pregnant women? What did they want with pregnant women?

Again, I’m missing something…

MIHAIThat something is still on the other side of the ocean,

in Eastern Europe. You know, Eastern Europe stretches

from the former Berlin Wall to the Ural Mountains.

Anyway… I love this word: anyway…

RITA

(decides to go)

Anyway… I wish you a pleasant stay here in Texas!

MIHAI

How pleasant could it be, since my daughter has to keep

an eye on me? I knew Texas to be a land of freedom…

RITA

Of freedom, yes. However, the boundaries of freedom are

defined by the law.

Rita is about to leave the office. Mihai has gotten up from the

chair as a sign of politeness to her leaving the room.

MIHAI

This means I am surrounded by the best frontier guards.


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29

RITA

No. In this particular case, everyone is their own

frontier guard. We are dealing with those who have

already crossed the border fraudulently.

Rita tries to leave the room with a firm stride, as she had come

in, but she stops in the doorway with a discreet smile at the

corner of her mouth, turns her head and says, slightly ironically.

RITA

Au revoir, cher Monsieur Michel.

MIHAI

À bientôt, chère Madame Margueritte!

Rita gives him one more quick glance and leaves the office.

Cristina remains quiet for a while, then explodes.

CRISTINA

Daddy, tomorrow you’re taking the first flight back toEurope!

MIHAI

But what did I do?

CRISTINA

“What did I do”?! What in God’s name possessed you to

flirt so openly, and with Rita of all people?! I had

asked you to be reserved! All the sexual harassment files

she’s ever worked on ended up with a guilty verdict. Rita

is the terror of Texas. Everyone is scared of her. The

office in Los Angeles has already invited her to takeover an entire department. She is…

MIHAI

I can see that.

CRISTINA

What?

MIHAI

That she’s… mean.

CRISTINAI thought you were going to say something ironic again.

MIHAI

I noticed that people around here have some sense of

humor after all.

CRISTINA

Well, Rita doesn’t.

MIHAI


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30

It depends who the humor comes from. I know how to read

people.

CRISTINA

(in a secretive tone)

Rita’s not human. She’s a robot.

MIHAI

Is she married?

CRISTINA

Twice. A little girl from each marriage.

MIHAI

A new sieve hangs on the nail only while it’s new.

CRISTINA

Please stop talking in proverbs.

MIHAI

This woman has a shaky nail, on which the clothes ofdaily bliss hang much too heavy.

CRISTINA

I still don’t get it. You writers have such a weird way

with words… The thing is Rita doesn’t like men.

MIHAI

Anyway, she’s not a lesbian.

CRISTINA

Oh, no!

MIHAI

She’s rather…

CRISTINA

Rather what?

MIHAI

I don’t like to discuss women with my own daughter. I

find it indecent.

CRISTINA

Shifty as always. Come on, I’ll show you out, to makesure you don’t screw anything else up.

EXT. STREET – DAY

Cristina accompanied her father all the way to the street.

MIHAI

Maybe I should have stopped by Rita’s office to tell her

good bye.


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31

CRISTINA

The best thing you could do is take a cab and go home, so

I can have some peace in my office.

MIHAI

The best thing would have been to have stayed home, in

Romania, to spend Christmas with my friends…

EXT. AUSTIN – DAY

Mihai is walking and admiring the city. Mihai goes to an ATM

machine and inserts his card in it. He seems angry. Mihai dials a

number on his cell phone.

INT. A SECRETARIAL OFFICE – DAY

The secretarial office of the Romanian Presidency. THE CHIEF

SECRETARY, 30-35 years old, good looking, stately.

THE CHIEF SECRETARY

You have reached the President’s Office. Who’s speakingplease? Who? Mihai Codreanu? No, I haven’t heard of you,

you’re not on my protocol list… Certainly, as soon as I

find an opportunity, I’ll inform Mister President Andrei

Manole that you called.

EXT. THE TERRACE OF A RESTAURANT - DAY

Mihai is sitting at a table with a cup of coffee in front of him.

He looks deep in thought. His hand is playing with his cell phone.

EXT. LAVACA STREET – EVENING

Mihai is walking leisurely towards Cristina’s place.

INT. CRISTINA’S ROOM – EVENING

Mihai and Cristina are sitting at the dinner table.

CRISTINA

I must remember to take the novel with me, to read to my

colleagues from it.

MIHAIAnd that jar of jam I promised Rita.

Cristina wants to refuse it. She finally takes it and puts it into

her bag.

EXT. AUSTIN CITY CENTER – MORNING

Cristina stops the car so her father can get off.

CRISTINA


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32

I’ll see you tonight. Have a great day! And take care.

MIHAI

I don’t think it’s very easy to get lost in a museum.

INT. MUSEUM

Mihai is walking around the Museum of Art. He examines the

paintings with an expert look.

EXT. AUSTIN – ZIUA

Mihai is sitting on a bench in the park. He has just finished

talking on the phone. He closes the phone’s flap with an angry

gesture. He gets up and starts walking.

EXT. LAVACA STREET – EVENING

Mihai is walking slowly towards Cristina’s place. From the

opposite direction comes a girl running. She’s jogging. It’s

Cristina.

CRISTINA

Bonsoir!

MIHAI

I didn’t recognize you. What’s with you?

CRISTINA

I come from the gym. I go there twice a week. If Giuseppe

hadn’t been in San Antonio, we could have all went to a

restaurant for dinner. I’m so hungry…


Mihai and Cristina are sitting at the dinner table. Mihai is

telling her about the electoral campaign.

MIHAI

I told him from the very first day: “The minute you start

making electoral promises, I leave you and go back to my

writing desk!”

CRISTINA

And did he listen?

MIHAI

He’s now staying in the Presidential Palace, isn’t he?

(irony, whisper)

Even got a secretary who’s never heard of me…

CRISTINA

What’s that?

MIHAI


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33

I promised him I’d get him a cowboy hat.

CRISTINA

You can get him one in Fort Worth. This weekend we’ll go

visit Dallas and Fort Worth. Giuseppe has already talked

to his boss to give him the weekend off. And I talked to

Rita…

(the phone rings)

Hello. Ms Donbario, what a pleasure!…(covers the receiver with her hand and whispers to

her father)

I hope she doesn’t call to send me on a mission or

something…

(in the phone)

Yes, ma’am, I’m listening. I was having dinner with my

dad. Yes, he loves the city. He wandered around Austin

all day long. In fact, he just got home a short while

ago. And I was just telling him about the trip to Dallas

and Forth Worth that Giuseppe and I have planned… When he

was young, my dad loved cowboy movies. Sure… He’ll be

glad to talk to you…

Cristina looks baffled. She hands Mihai the phone.

CRISTINA

(irony)

Maybe she wants to charge you with verbal assault…

MIHAI

What’s one more experience… Bonsoir chère madame! Notrouble at all. It’s a very nice surprise…

INT. RITA’S HOME STUDY

Rita’s home study. A desk covered with files, a computer, a few

paintings hanging on the walls, a large bookcase covering a whole

wall. A window covered by a curtain. Rita is leaning against the

desk and talking on the phone.

VOICE MIHAI

…although… receiving a call from a prosecutor can be

quite a frightening experience… When do I have to come in

for questioning?

RITAWhat are you talking about?

VOCE MIHAI

You’re not going to charge me with…? I don’t know? Oh,

yes, Sheba… I’m not going to take that back. You can

bring me before the court, I’ll still claim that you look

like the Queen of Sheba.


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34

For a few moments, Rita seems disconcerted by Mihai’s words. She

murmurs “God damned”. She looks lost for words. She straightens

her back and says in a firm tone.

RITA

I’m calling to say thank you for the jam. My girls have

already finished up the jar…

Next to Rita, on the desk, there’s the half empty jar.

RITA

I don’t usually give them sweets, I’m afraid they might

get fat. Today I made an exception.

INT. CRISTINA’S ROOM - NIGHT

MIHAI

Chère Madame Margueritte, you haven’t even got to LosAngeles yet and you have already embraced the movie

stars’ mentality: you can never be skinny enough or

appreciated enough by the movie critics.


RITA

(decides to play along)

I had heard differently: that anything good is either

illegal, or fattening.


MIHAI

What’s even worse is that some people are never satisfiedwith how rich or powerful or influential they are.

They’re always striving to be and have more, so they can

control the others’ destinies. I wonder where these

people are.


RITA

If you’re suggesting that they are all here in America,

on Wall Street, I have to tell you you’re wrong. The

world is filled with financial criminals. Cristina could

tell you more about it, since she decided to specializein financial criminality as well.

(pause)

Today I heard your daughter translating to her colleagues

from one of your novels. I refuse to believe that any

prosecutor would take orders from a doctor, even if she

was the best doctor in that hospital.

VOICE MIHAI

That doctor you’re talking about was married to a

politician.


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35

RITA

Here in America even presidents have been under

investigation. And we did it in the name of justice.

VOICE MIHAI

I know. Because America’s interests demanded it.

RITA (long pause)

Yes… I admit… It’s a pleasure to chat on the phone with a

writer. I read on the internet that the current Romanian

president owes you his electoral victory. In one of the

papers, a journalist was making ironic remarks about you,

calling you “the little Demosthenes” and wondering where

you were hiding during the swearing in ceremony.

VOICE MIHAI

When I’ll feel I’m needed, I’ll be there, together with

my counselors.

RITA

Oh, so you had counselors too. That’s news to me.

VOICE MIHAI

A writer always has hundreds of counselors: Homer,

Aeschylus, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle, Dante, Petrarca,

Shakespeare… Do you want me to go on?

RITA

No.

(walks along the bookcase. On a shelf we see the

books by the authors that Mihai mentioned)This list should be part of any person’s cultural

baggage. But… To get back to the sweet-black-bitter…

That’s how my girls named your cherry jam. My youngest

daughter, who’s here with me…

(Rita is alone in the room)

…wants me to send you… I think you know what the word

kiss means… It’s from my girls… This is the reason I

called… I had to give you this message…


MIHAII’m surprised you found it so difficult to deliver it.

It’s not a bad message, it’s not one of those whose

delivery ends up with the beheading of the messenger. On

the contrary. It’s the nicest message I got lately. Too

bad it got lost on the way… maybe the messenger is too

tired… Anyway, please tell your daughters I’ll send them

two more jars. Bringing joy to children is always an

uplifting experience, and if it’s us who get to bring

that joy, we climb another step from the daily inferno

towards Dante’s fascinating paradise. A propos, chère


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36

Madame Margueritte, did anyone ever tell you that youhave the most beautiful dark eyes?

Cristina looks at her father in despair. She makes frantic signs:

“What’s the matter with you?!” Mihai ignores her.

MIHAI

I believe, chère Madame Margueritte, that when they wrote

that famous song “Dark eyes”, the Russians, who generallyhave blue or green eyes, had a lady with eyes like yours

in mind. Do listen to the song. You can find it on the

internet, it’s called Ocii ciornâi, and it’s beautiful,melodious and mysterious. You’ll find it suits you.

Cristina’s room is filled with a tense silence.Even Mihai looks

worried. He seems to be asking himself: “Did I go too far?”

VOICE RITA

(after a pause)

Mister Codreanu, please let me speak to your daughter.

MIHAI

Certainly, madam. And in case I don’t speak to you again

tonight, I wish you and your two little princesses good

night. I hope you have some jam left, so you can paint

them like pirates. Maybe they’ll come to you in the

middle of the night and steal your sleep, since your

heart must have been stolen a long time ago. À bientôt,chère Madame Margueritte! Ou, peut-être, une véritablereine Margot.

Mihai hands the phone to his daughter, who looks at him with

frightened eyes.

CRISTINA

Yes, madam… Yes, of course… I wish you a pleasant

evening…

(hangs up. A long pause)

Now I really regret that moment of enthusiasm when

Giuseppe and I invited you to come here. You had to flirt

with Rita! God damned…

(sits for a while on the edge of the bed with her

temples between her palms)

Alright then… If Rita doesn’t tear me to pieces tomorrow

at work, in the afternoon we’ll be her guests at herhome. She says that her daughters want to meet the sweet-

black-bitter mister. You can be sure that this gesture of

inviting us to her villa is in fact a present to her

daughters. I didn’t hear of any other colleague of mine

ever being invited into her courtyard, let alone the

residence itself. They say her villa is like a fortress,

with sensors on the fence and bulletproof doors.

MIHAI


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38

(reads over Mihai’s shoulder)

“To her Excellency Ms. Margherita Donbario…” Smooth…

Mihai puts on his Bugatti jacket. Cristina comes near him and they

both admire themselves in the mirror.

CRISTINA

Really, I don’t think this is wise. We’re overdressed.

MIHAI

If I had known, I would have brought with me those jeans

I put on when I work in the garden.

CRISTINA

It’s too much luxury. What will Rita think?

MIHAI

That we are paying her a respectful homage by coming into

her house wearing our best clothes.

CRISTINAWith clothes worth thousands of dollars but with empty

pockets…

MIHAI

Sorry, I beg to differ! I still got some money left on my

credit card…

INT. CAR – DAY

They are driving in Cristina’s car through a neighborhood of

houses decorated for Christmas. Mihai has on his lap a map of the

city and indicates to Cristina which streets to take. In front ofthem there’s a barrier. Cristina stops by the guard at the barrier

and shows him her identity card.

CRISTINA

We’re here to see Margherita Donbario.

The guard examines the card, then checks his notebook.

THE GUARD

Yes. I was informed about your coming. Please, go ahead…

The guard lifts up the barrier. On the right side of the roadthere’s a large, magnificently decorated shopping mall. Lots of

people.

EXT. RITA’S RESIDENCE – DAY

The car has passed by a tall board fence and stopped in front of a

villa. The garage door is up. Rita is standing in the garage door

opening. She signals them to pull the car into the garage.

INT. THE GARAGE OF RITA’S RESIDENCE


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39

The garage door closes with a loud sound behind the car. The

garage lights go on. In the garage there’s also a black VolkswagenTouareg .

CRISTINA

I heard it’s bulletproof.

MIHAIWhen you come back to the country, I wish you’ll come to

need a bulletproof car too.

CRISTINA

The enemies of a good prosecutor are always behind bars.

MIHAI

I’ll ask Rita who she’s afraid of.

Mihai steps out of the car and goes to the left front door to help

his daughter get out. Mihai takes the flower bouquet and the bag

with presents from the back seat of the car.

RITA

Did you have a hard time finding the place?

CRISTINA

My dad has an excellent sense of direction.

RITA

I only hope he had it also when he helped Andrei Manole

become president.

MIHAI (morose)

The best of the worse…

Rita pushes a glass button by the door. The door opens with a loud

noise. Cristina goes in. Mihai makes an elegant gesture, inviting

Rita to go in first. Rita shows her appreciation for Mihai’s

gesture by a slight bend of the head.

INT. THE HALLWAY OF RITA’S RESIDENCE

Mihai has put the bag with presents and the flowers on a small

table and now he’s helping Cristina take off her fur coat.Cristina goes to a mirror in the hallway and arranges her outfit

in front of it. Rita takes the fur coat from Mihai’s hand to put

it on the hall stand.

RITA

(admiringly)

Fendi, Italy…

(notices the “Bugatti” label inside Mihai’s jacket)

And Bugatti…


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MIHAI

I’m afraid they both carry the Pinocchio brand.

RITA

Is that the company that sells them?

MIHAI

“Company” is a bit of an overstatement. It’s a store… A

boutique, as the French would call it.(points to the two coats)

This one, one hundred. The other, two hundred max.

RITA

Thousands of dollars?!

MIHAI

No, madam. Plain dollars. Pinocchio is a used clothes

store selling Western stuff.

(points to the clothes)

The Fendi had a paint stain right here: the animal rights

organizations… This other one… (shows her the hole under the sleeve near the armpit)

…a bullet… But I don’t mind as long as only the wrapper

is secondhand.

RITA

Secondhand… I read in some paper that during the

electoral campaign you launched your novel “Secondhand

life”. What is it about?

MIHAI

About life, obviously.

INT. THE LIVING ROOM OF RITA’S HOUSE – DAY

An elegant living room. Through the window one can see the garden.

In the garden, the little girls’ playground. There’s a door that

connects the living room to the garden. A sofa, armchairs, a

table, paintings on the walls. A fireplace. The fire is lit. On

the sofa sit quietly two little girls, looking silently at the

guests who come in. JEANNE, white skin, 6-7 years old. SARA, black

skin, large, beautiful eyes, curly hair, 4-5 years old.

RITA

These are my daughters. Jeanne…

Jeanne gets up and curtsies.

RITA

…and Sara.

Sara is having a hard time coming down the edge of the sofa. She

finally slides off and curtsies. The girls resume their seats on

the sofa, as quiet and apprehensive as before.


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MIHAI

Aren’t they the sweetest little girls you’ve ever seen?

CRISTINA

Yes, of course…

The little girls are smiling. Sara bursts into laughter, but stops

laughing abruptly when she hears Rita’s footsteps. Rita comes in

holding a vase with the flowers.

RITA

At this hour, do you have regular coffee or decaf?

MIHAI

Whatever you’re having.

RITA

Regular. I usually work until midnight.

MIHAI

For a writer, midnight is usually the time when the musecomes knocking.

RITA

So when do writers sleep then?

MIHAI

They hardly ever do.

RITA

Judging by the way you look, I wouldn’t say you’re sleep

deprived. On the contrary, I’d say you sleep long and

soundly.

MIHAI

My muse has left me. If she had still been with me, do

you think she would have let me come to Texas?

RITA

The texts in that fashion album show your muse has always

been at your side.

MIHAI

That album was made last summer.

RITA

For a writer, six months is not a long time.

MIHAI

On the other hand, a mere second can mean everything if

it brings with it a brilliant idea.

RITA

Allow me to leave you for a few brilliant ideas, so I can

bring in the coffee. I gave Clara the day off. She’s my


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housekeeper. She used to be a policewoman in Miami when

she was young.

Rita leaves the room. Mihai looks at the two little girls. The

girls keep glancing at the jam jars. Cristina and Mihai look at

each other. Their eyes are filled with pity for the two little

girls who sit so quietly on the sofa. Mihai makes a decision. He

gets up and goes to the table with the two jars on it. He picks up

a jar and takes off its lid.

MIHAI

I wonder if this jam is as black as the other one. Yes.

It’s very black. Then it must be very tasty too.

Mihai leans down in front of the little girls. He looks at each

one in turn and decides to go to Sara. He holds out the jar to

her, but the little girl doesn’t know what to do. Mihai takes

Sara’s right hand, bends all her fingers, except for the pointing

finger. Mihai dips the tip of Sara’s finger into the jam jar, then

takes it to her mouth.Somewhat apprehensive, Sara puts her finger

into her mouth. As soon as she feels the taste of the jam, hereyes lit up with a spark of joy.Mihai nods encouragingly. Sara

dips again her finger into the jar.Sara looks at Jeanne and

smiles.Mihai holds the jar out to Jeanne.

Jeanne dips her finger, then tastes.Jeanne and Sara taste in

turns. They keep giggling while doing it.Suddenly, they freeze in

fright and look up.Mihai slightly turns his head, without getting

up. He notices Rita’s legs. He slowly raises his eyes. He sees the

bottom of a crystal tray with coffee cups on it.

Mihai gets up slowly. Mihai and Rita give each other intense

looks. Mihai is fixing Rita, like before a duel. He utters in a

calm voice.

MIHAI

Cristina, please take the tray, will you?

Cristina takes the tray and puts it on the table.

MIHAI

The lady needs her hands free…

Mihai and Rita are still fixing each other. The room is filled

with tension. Rita looks like she’s about to slap Mihai, but she

refrains from it. Mihai holds out his right hand, takes Rita’s

hand, bends her fingers, like he had done with Sara, places thejar under her pointing finger and dips her finger into it. A drop

of jam trickles from Rita’s finger back into the jar.

MIHAI

Matthew’s Gospel, just like Mark’s, says that it’s not

what goes into your mouth that defiles you, but what

comes out of it…

Mihai slightly lifts the woman’s hand. Rita takes herself her

finger to her mouth and tastes. Still fixing Mihai, she dips her


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finger again into the jar. This time she thrusts it more deeply

into her mouth and sucks it somewhat voluptuously. She bends her

head in a thank you gesture.

RITA

Thank you, my lord!

Mihai bends his head too, in a “you’re welcome” gesture, and steps

back to put the jar on the table.Sara and Jeanne jump off the sofa and run to hug Rita. Sara hugs

her thigh, while Jeanne puts her arms around her waist.

Rita is seized by a tremor, like a shiver. She bends down and

kisses the girls on the top of their heads.

The girls climb back on the sofa. They are no longer frightened.

They keep looking at each other and smiling.

RITA

Can I offer you a drink, brandy, whisky, vodka?

CRISTINA

Only for my dad. I’m driving.

MIHAI

Vodka.

Rita brings in a bottle of vodka and two glasses.

Sara jumps off the sofa and whispers something in Rita’s ear.

RITA

Sure, honey.

The little girls take their plush toys and lie on their bellies in

front of the fireplace. They begin to play.Rita sits down in the armchair.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. RITA’S LIVING ROOM – LATER

The little girls are playing in front of the fireplace.

Rita, Cristina and Mihai are sitting in armchairs and talking.

RITA

If you’re going to Dallas tomorrow, you should stay in a

hotel there overnight, so you could be in the city Sundaytoo.

(slight irony)

Any European who comes to Dallas insists on visiting the

Ewing family ranch. I’m sure you’ve been watching the

show.

MIHAI

Before communism collapsed, it was our moment of

relaxation every evening.


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RITA

(to Cristina)

Have you bought plane tickets for New York yet?

CRISTINA

Just for me. My dad leaves on the 27th on the Amtrak.

RITA

The Amtrak?! But it takes 48 hours to get there by train…28 hours to Chicago… an 8 hour wait there… and then the

trip to New York.

Rita seems more “loose”. She’s even agreeable.

MIHAI

Since we’re enjoying Russkaya vodka, why should 48 hoursscare us? What would you say if you had to spend 7 days

on a train crossing Siberia, from Moscow to Beijing?

RITA

Seven days, on a train?

MIHAI

Half the charm of my trip to China was the journey by

train. New people… all with their life stories… endless

plains and birch tree forests… Those birch trees… like

standing bones growing in a hostile and much too green

Siberia, like a forgotten graveyard where the dead rose

and went to meet God green and upright…

RITA

That’s beautiful. Who wrote that?

CRISTINA

Daddy…

MIHAI

(simultaneously with Cristina)

From the novel of an unknown author…

(sadness)

From the Berlin Wall to Vladivostok, communism was

equally “triumphant”, with slight differences from

country to country.

RITAI know what happened in Eastern Europe.

MIHAI

(staring intensely into her eyes)

Are you sure?

RITA

(pause)

The first advice I always give to my younger colleagues

is to get to know in depth all versions…


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Cristina is puzzled by the sadness with which Mihai and Rita look

at each other from time to time.

CRISTINA

Rita has on her desk a golden plaque that reads: Audiaturet altera pars.

RITAIt’s a prerequisite of our profession.

MIHAI

And were you never tempted to quote from the Bible too?

He who sows wind… for instance.

RITA

The law says that he must still reap wind. It’s only fair

that the punishment should fit the crime. Are you a

religious man?

MIHAII do have a God.

RITA

I don’t understand.

MIHAI

Dostoevsky says that people who do not have a God think

they’re allowed to do anything.

RITA

I read mostly French literature. Dostoevsky’s

undergrounds didn’t appeal to me. I have my ownundergrounds…

(to the girls, who are having an argument)

Jeanne, Sara!…

SARA

Jeanne says that my fox is smaller than her bear…

JEANNE

And Sara makes fun of my bear because it doesn’t have a

tail…

MIHAIHey, princesses, come here. Do you want to know how that

bear lost his tail? If you come sit here, in my chair,

side by side, like two good sisters, I’ll tell you…

Mihai gets up and helps the girls climb on the armchair. He sits

down on the carpet and picks up the two plush toys.

MIHAI

It was a freezing winter day and this little fox had

nothing to eat.


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From where he sits, Mihai glances at Rita.

Rita presses her knees together, so Mihai can’t see her legs under

her dress. Mihai smiles discreetly. He holds out his hand and

takes his glass of vodka, slightly raising it to Rita in a

“cheers” gesture. Rita is watching him with distrust.

MIHAI

And on that freezing winter day, the starving little foxsaw passing on the road a man driving a cart full of

fish… a lot of fish… Do you girls like fish?

The two girls vigorously shake their heads no.

MIHAI

Well, little foxes love fish…

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. RITA’S LIVING ROOM – LATER

Rita is taking slow sips from her glass of vodka while listening

attentively to Mihai’s story. She is now sitting relaxed, with her

legs crossed. Mihai is illustrating his story using the two plush

toys.

MIHAI

Do you want fish? the little fox asks the bear. Then you

should do as I did. Go to the lake, dip your tail into

the water, and then stay like this all night long,

without moving a muscle, ‘cos if you move, you might

scare the fish away. And in the morning, when you’ll pull

your tail out, you’ll find a lot of fish hanging on it.(changes the tone of his voice)

Until the night is over, I’ll take a little break, and

drink some vodka, otherwise I risk freezing like that

poor bear’s tail.

The little girls laugh in amusement. Mihai picks up his glass.

Rita notices the look on his face, but this time she doesn’t press

her knees together. She faces his glance with calm eyes.

MIHAI

And the bear stayed with his tail in the water all night

long. And he had a big tail, bigger than the fox’s. Whenthe morning finally came, he tried to pull his tail out

of the water. “I must have caught a lot of fish”, he

thought, feeling very happy. And he pulled, and pulled,

delighted that he had caught so much fish. Alas, his tail

was trapped in the frozen water. You girls know how hard

ice cubes are, don’t you? Well, so was the ice where the

bear’s tail was trapped. And while the bear was pulling

harder and harder, thinking happily of all the fish he

was soon going to eat, all of a sudden, snap, his tail


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broke off. Angry and upset, the bear went to look for

the little fox, but she had hidden…

(pause)

And that’s how the poor bear lost its tail…

The girls are laughing. Rita whispers: “kiss”. The girls come to

Mihai and kiss him on the cheek. Rita pours vodka in Mihai’s

glass.

RITA

The storyteller must be thirsty by now.

Mihai takes the glass.

MIHAI

Thank you.

Sara whispers something in her mother’s ear.

RITA

My daughters would like to show you their playground.

Rita leads the way to the door opening to the garden. She pushes

the glass button. The door unlocks with a click.

EXT. PLAYGROUND – DAY

An elegant patio. A few steps descending into a large garden. A

board fence surrounding the entire garden. A swing and a play

slide under a big tree. The little girls run to the swing.

JEANNE

Mommy, mommy, can we?

RITA

Sure.

SARA

(to Mihai)

Come see how high we go on the swing…

The girls climb on the swing. Cristina goes to the swing and

starts pushing it. The girls are laughing. They’re happy.

Mihai looks at the sky, which is filling with clouds. Rita sees

him and says…

RITA

We have a saying here in Texas: if you don’t like the

weather, wait a minute and it will change. I’m sure that

within the hour, the sun will smile to you again.

MIHAI

Only the sun?


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Rita smiles. Mihai is glad to see her looking happy at her little

girls. Rita and Mihai are leaning against a tree. Mihai’s left

hand is very close to Rita’s right hand. They are both looking in

front of them, at the swing. Rita’s and Mihai’s little fingers are

now touching. Their eyes are still staring ahead. Their fingers

touch even more. The swing has stopped moving. The little girls

get off and come running towards their mother.

SARAMommy, you too, you too…

JEANNE

Mommy too can go in the swing.

SARA

I’ve seen her. In the evenings, she comes here sometimes

and reads sitting in the swing.

The little girls take Rita to the swing. Mihai goes in front of

the swing and starts pushing it. The swing goes high into the air.

The hem of Rita’s dress floats up in the air. The girls arestanding on one side of the swing, next to Cristina. Mihai pushes

the swing even harder. Rita and Mihai look into each other’s eyes.

RITA

Please stop…

Mihai stops the swing. Rita’s knees open and catch Mihai’s knees

between them. Rita gets off the swing.

RITA

Thanks, but the swing if for the children. And we have

three children here. Please… I’m sure there’s room forall three of you on it. Cristina, I want to ask your

father to find for me that Russian song on the internet.

Don’t go near the fence, you’ll set off the alarm. If you

want to go in, give me a call, I’ll unlock the door for

you.

(to Mihai)

Please…

Rita goes to another door. She pushes a button, opens the door and

makes a sign to Mihai to go in. Mihai invites her to go in first.

The door locks electronically behind them.


Rita and Mihai enter Rita’s home study, the room from where Rita

spoke on the phone with Mihai the night before. The sound of the

door closing behind them. Mihai looks around the study admiringly.

He stops by the window and looks closely at it. Rita pulls the

curtain a little to the side. The window is bricked in.

RITA

It makes me feel safer when I work late at night.


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MIHAI

I keep the window open during the night. So the muse can

get in.

RITA

Well, you’re in no danger of being killed by one of your

characters.

MIHAI

That’s true, I’m sorry…

Mihai walks by the bookcase admiring the books. On the desk there

are a lot of files. Rita turns on the computer.

RITA

Can you please look for that song?

MIHAI

Sorry? Oh, sure… “Ocii ciornâi”…

Mihai searches for a link. We can hear the song playing.

RITA

You were right. It’s very beautiful.

EXT. PLAYGROUND – DAY

The swing moves through the air. The girls are laughing. Cristina

holds them by the waist, so they don’t fall. The garden is filled

with the little girls’ laughter.

INT. RITA’S HOME STUDY - LATER

MIHAI

(presses some keys on the computer)

I want you to listen to this song as well.

Finds on YouTube the song “Moscow Nights”, performed by

singer Vladimir Trochyn.

RITA

(enthusiasm)

“Moscow Nights”… Young people sing it sometimes… Do you

know what the lyrics say?

MIHAI

(searches on the Internet)

Here’s the English translation…

Mihai wants to get up from the chair, but Rita stops him. She is

standing behind Mihai, with one hand leaning on his shoulder,

reading the lyrics in English.

RITA


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Beautiful lyrics. Thank you! I don’t know if I have any

vodka around here…

Rita opens a liquor cabinet, takes out a bottle of amaretto and

pours the drink into two glasses. The song replays automatically.

RITA

It’s amaretto. I sometimes pour some in my coffee…

Rita holds both glasses out to Mihai, so he can pick one. Mihai

takes a glass. Rita’s eyes are watching the computer screen. On

the screen we see the people in a concert hall singing along with

the performer. We see old Russian generals and young girls swaying

in the rhythm of the music.

MIHAI

(sings quietly along with the singer)

Песня слышится и не слышится/ В эти тихие вечера…

RITA

You speak Russian?

MIHAI

(comes near Rita with the glass in his hand. Recites)

“A song sounds and is not to be heard / In those quiet

evenings”…

(raises his glass)

To your health and to the happiness of your two

princesses.

RITA

There are three princesses in the garden.

MIHAI

To this quiet evening and to the happiness of the three

princesses.

Rita and Mihai clink glasses. They drink with slow sips.

RITA

If we had drunk vodka, we would have had to break the

glasses after emptying them, isn’t that right?

MIHAI

It would have been a shame to break them after just onedrink.

Rita is moving her head to the song. She looks happy.

RITA

Anyway, the amaretto seems to go better with this song…

MIHAI

I don’t know if this liqueur is very expensive, but I do

know it’s precious.


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Rita puts her hands on Mihai’s chest and pushes him back hard. Her

right arm points to the bathroom door in a commanding gesture.

RITA

The bathroom is over there.

INT. THE BATHROOM NEXT TO THE STUDY

Mihai looks at himself in the mirror. He’s covered in sweat. He

looks scared. He begins to wash his face.

INT. RITA’S HOME STUDY - LATER

Rita is leaning against the desk. She’s back to her old self:

cold, distant, stately. The computer is turned off.

Mihai comes out of the bathroom. Rita hands him his tie. She waits

for him to put it on, then hands him his jacket. They both start

walking to the door. Mihai walks like a sleepwalker.

EXT. THE PLAYGROUND – EVENING

The little girls come running to greet their mother.

SARA

Cristina went on the slide with us. I can go faster than

she.

CRISTINA

(to Mihai)

I recall when you used to take me to the park downtown…You were so tired, you would fall asleep on the bench

waiting for me.

RITA

Your father was right. That song “Dark eyes” is very

beautiful.

They all walk together towards the entrance into the house.

INT. RITA’S LIVING ROOM – EVENING

Rita brings in a tray with cookies and refreshments. She pours thelittle girls two glasses of juice. She pours Cristina a glass of

orange juice.

RITA

I know you like it.

(to Mihai)

What kind of juice would you like?

MIHAI

(sad irony)


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Sour.

RITA

I’ll go to the kitchen then and squeeze two lemons for

you.

MIHAI

Thanks, you don’t have to do that. Water is fine.

Mihai has a hard time hiding his annoyance.

Rita glances at him from time to time.

RITA

I think you should take the Tarantula train from Dallas

to Fort Worth.

CRISTINA

Giuseppe would know. He took his sisters there in

September.

RITA(to Mihai)

I hope you’ll have enough money, to see all there is to

see. A writer has to see, know things…

(to Cristina)

I think you should have dinner at the Dandelion. The

restaurant is in a tower, you can see all the surrounding

sights from up there. And I hope you’ll take your father

to see Southfork. For a European…

MIHAI

(in a sour tone of voice)

…it’s a must, I get it. How would we have made itthrough without the Dallas-Ewing Oil Company ? We wouldhave never known how plentiful life can really be and we

would have been content with living forever under a

totalitarian regime.

RITA

So the US are responsible for all the evils in Europe.

MIHAI

I didn’t say that.

RITAAll you Europeans say it…

MIHAI

We’re not “all Europeans”. Although…

RITA

Although…?

MIHAI


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I read in some book that the old French adage cherchezla femme should be replaced with “ask the Americans”…

RITA

And you’re saying that in the home of an American

prosecutor?

MIHAI

I

Documents

CHRISTMAS LOVE STORY by C. Munteanu.pdf