A Trilogy transcript
Man
Running voice-over:
"Water...
sinking... giving up... "
"Can't
see my face... lungs? Exhausted... "
"Time
never seemed to enter into it, I mean like duration ..."
"It
just seems to be right that it’s happening when it is and where it is..."
"It's
dark..."
"It
seems like something that will happen, or did happen... out of circumstances… over water travel, some sort
of mishap..."
TEXT
on screen #1 (history statements):
On
Setting
sail from
About
1786 a Scottsman Andrew Merkle
contrived a threshing machine.
In
1834 the spinners in the cotton factories of one industrial region worked 13
hours/day for $2.80/week.
In
order to make difficulties for the Austrian treasury the Milanese stopped
smoking after Jan.1, 1848.
In
1845 the failure of the potato crop started a tide of emigration to
In
1859 he published the Origin of the Species by Natural Selection.
In
England Ruskin and Morris criticized the academic inanities of art and
contemporary decoration with a disturbing effectiveness.
In
1888 he submitted an anti-trust bill to the House of Representatives.
By
1900 more than 4,400,000 Americans owned shares of stock.
It
was hoped that this
Irene
Curie and Federic Joliot had shown in 1934 that some
light elements could be made radioactive by bombarding them with alpha
particles.
Since
its introduction in 1959, the Barbie doll population of the world has grown to
12 million.
Words
are dropping out of the language and being replaced at a rate at least 3 times
faster than during the base period 1564-1914.
Couple
Breakfasting in Kitchen
Sync:
music/ VO from
CBC radio news:
Man:
"Hi love." "It's
Monday, June 24...destruction
Woman:
"Hi." of Air
evidence of a
terrorist bomb...
rescue
crew...life boats....bodies
overnight...officials are
calling it the
worst air disaster in
history
Woman:
"Working late?"
Man:
"Yeah, I have to get going now. I have a
Woman:
"If you wait a couple of minutes I'll drive you."
Man:
"Okay, I'll wait for you outside."
about 280 of
those who died lived in
It's clear and
sunny in downtown
Couple
in Kitchen-Day 2
sync CBC Radio
News:
"From CBC radio news, it's Tues....
and the search continues....Now the
details...
..could produce the largest
insurance...
Couple
in Kitchen-Day 3
Woman:
"I'm going to get my purse."
Man:
"Okay, I'm almost finished."
Woman:
"you ready?"
Man:
"Yup, just a sec."
..a
few moments ago we reached
our
correspondent in
TEXT
on screen #2 (narrative story of
Mystery initiation ritual):
About
the age of 12 the boy is taken into the bush and anointed from head to foot with
human blood.
Some
months later his nose is pierced and a quill is introduced into the wound; the
boy then receives a special name.
The
2nd and most important rite constitutes a mystery properly
so-called. The boy is mourned by the whole clan as if he had died. He is
carried at night into the forest where he hears the sacred songs for the first
time.
On
the next day each of the men opens a vein in his arm and lets blood drip down
on his head.
After
the ritual meal the neophyte is given a torch to light a fire in which he is
told his genital organs will be burnt up.
On
the following day a journey begins that continues for 24 days.
Upon
his return to camp a mock battle ensues; at nightfall songs and dances
represent mythical events.
Before
dawn the neophyte is led in to bush to be circumcised.
When
all is done the operators, weeping, give presents and reveal their real names.
On
the day of his return he is anointed with blood and his arrival is heralded by
the noise of bullroarers.
Sometime
later a further ceremony is held: in the forest the initiate climbs a tree, the
tree of the world. Then, led by an old man on a journey, it is revealed how the
ceremony was invented.
Kitchen
scene Day 4
sync
Woman:
"The repairman's coming to check the water heater"
Man:
"That's good, love. Are you going to wait for him?"
Woman:
"Yeah, he should be here soon—within the next half-hour, I hope."
Radio:
"This is CBC news. It's a bright, pleasant morning in downtown
Voice-over
of a woman:(reading from a letter she is writing, unseen)
"Good
morning, It's a sunny Saturday morning, clear and fresh,
Voice-over
of same woman, reading from another letter:
"Today
is a beautiful day, slightly hazy sunshine and warm. We've had quite a few days
of clouds and rain and wind, but now today again, lovely..."
Voice-over
as above:
"February
8, it's Tuesday morning. I'm at Struts, minding the store. Just went to the
post office and there was a letter from you—number 3. I'm glad you have a
chance to go to a friend's home. I've enclosed an exeat permission letter for you to give to the
appropriate person. How was the French Common Entrance Exam? Did
you....."
"That's about it from here. Love, Mum."
Voice-over
as above:(barely audible)
"November
19, Dear Arlen, Hi. Enclosed is your flight schedule. I'll call between now and
departure time to confirm arrangements. I sent the ticket directly to Mr.
Taylor and asked for him to arrange for the train for you. I received a letter
from you yesterday and was really happy to receive it..."
Radio:
"It's Monday, June 28, and in this morning's headlines..."
Voice-over
of same woman, another letter:
"Dear
Ar, Hi. We went to Amherst to Gateway Books-"Asterix"—they had
millions of them there and then to the Mall, to the photomat machine where the
enclosed photo was taken, today, May 12, 1983, about 6:00pm. And so this
package brings you along with us a bit, sort of, I only wish, on our Amherst
outing."
Voice-over
as above (barely audible):
"...I'll
try to get in touch with her today, and I plan to work on the Silbury film,
sorting footage, and ride Gerry, and Laurie wants to photograph me as a part of
a series she's doing... I'm going to get
washed and dressed now. Love, Mum."
after
Birth scene,
Voice-over
of boy, (as he runs up hill and rolls down):
"..yesterday
I played five games. I reached the quarterfinals...
my
Mox Common Entrance exams begin soon and I'd better start revising from them if
I plan to do well...
for
the last week I've been thinking very hard about next year and weighing every
possibility. I may decide to speak to Mr. Taylor again about Millfield before
you receive this letter.
In
Latin last week I did the principal parts:
amo, amare, amavi, amatum; in Chemistry, we are doing a lot of
experiments with hydrogen; in Physics, we are doing surface tension; in
History, we are doing the reign of Henry II; in geography, we are doing British
steelworks.
Well,
that's all for now, Love Ar."
Voice-over
of man running (same as saw and heard at start of film):
"There
was a lot of wind and motion in the water, strong motion in the water, and I
was over coral. Some coral's very sharp and hard and I wasn't interested in
getting ship-wrecked on any of it and there was a few moments there when I
realized I was going to have to exert myself a little extra to pull myself out
of the situation and at that time I felt a little bit of panic starting to well
up in me but I happened upon this piece of coral which I could stand on, I
mean, it was smooth-surfaced such that I could stand on it and just have my
head above water and with the motion of my arms I could stay there."
TEXT
on screen:
What
is it that is imperative?
What
do I have to come to terms with?
What
is the a prior problem of man?
Is
the will of man free?
Has
man a soul and is it immortal?
What
are we?
Are
you ready?
What
are you afraid of?
If
I deal untruly in all secrecy who will know it?
Why
'bits’; why not the whole world?
And
if it never happens?
What
is our task in this Age?
How
are we to know what we are to do?
Then
if I am not human what am I?
What
is it that distinguishes humans from the animal?
What
is tolerable for human beings?
What
is possible for human beings?
Why
should I take this test?
How
can one justify calling a work of art superior if it is unpopular?
Is
the majority always wrong by definition?
What
shall I do when there is still a shadow of doubt?
What
is the question?
at
end of text, continuing into next scene
Radio
V/O:
Man:
"Whereabouts did you come from?"
Girl:
"What?"
Man:
"Where did you come from when your Mommy got you?"
Girl:
"From a shop."
Man:
"And how much did she pay for you?"
Girl:
"One shilling"
Man:
"You were a bargain weren't you?"
"This
is CBC Sunday Magazine—disaster at sea—the wreckage has been found, there is no
sign of life...."