英文片名: the piano
中文片名: 钢琴课 钢琴别恋
上映: 1994
the piano lesson
screenplay for a film by
jane campion
producer
jan chapman
script editor
billy mackinnon
maori dialogue and translator
selwyn muru
(c) copyright:
jan chapman productions pty ltd
2 fairlight street leichhart 2040
nsw australia
4th draft 1991
developed with the assistance of
the australian film commission
----------------------------------------------------------------
sc 1 sc 1
ada (vo - scs 2 to 7)
the voice you hear is not my
speaking voice, but my mind's
voice.
i have not spoken since i was
six years old. no one knows
why, not even me. my father
says it is a dark talent and
the day i take it into my head
to stop breathing will be my
last.
today he married me to a man
i've not yet met. soon my
daughter and i shall join him
in his own country. my husband
said my muteness does not
bother him. he writes and hark
this: god loves dumb creatures,
so why not he!
were good he had god's patience
for silence affects everyone in
the end. the strange thing is i
don't think myself silent, that
is, because of my piano. i
shall miss it on the journey.
sc 2 ext scottish field near houseday sc 2
a woman in a dark crepe victorian dress sits leaning against a tree,
her hands cover her face, around her neck she wears a writing pad. she
crosses a field with large bare trees, in the far background stands a
3 storey stone house.
sc 3 int scottish house corridor day sc 3
a small girl roller skates down a dimly lit corridor. a parlour maid
looks down the hall where the girl has disappeared.
sc 4 int scottish house drawing roomday sc 4
three men wearing long grey aprons are fitting the packing for a
piano. on one of the men's arms is a tattoo of a whale in a wild sea.
sc 5 ext scottish house grounds day sc 5
the girl wearing her skates sits on a small black pony. an old man is
pulling it, but it won't move. (in the background, another aspect of
the grey stone house.)
sc 6 int scottish house flora's bedroom nightsc 6
the woman lifts back the sheets from the bottom of the sleeping girl's
bed. she is still wearing her skates. the woman cuts through the laces
and removes the boots. one disembodied skate rolls across the room.
sc 7 int scottish house drawing roomnight sc 7
the woman stands at a window lit by moonlight. her skin appears
luminescently white. she touches the wooden window frame, the curtain,
the objects on the window sill, her mind abstracted, her hands
unconsciously performing a farewell. turning from the window she moves
to a square piano crowded by packing boxes. in the dim light she
begins to play strongly. her face strains, she is utterly involved,
unaware other own strange guttural sounds that form an eerie
accompaniment to the music.
an old maid in night-dress looks in. abruptly the woman stops playing.
the emotion leaves her face, it whitens and seems solid like a wall.
cut to black
sc 8 ext underwater beach day sc 8
under water a long boat passes overhead, its oars breaking the
surface.
sc 9 ext beach day sc 9
amidst a riotous sea a woman, ada, is carried to shore on the
shoulders of five seamen. her large victorian skirt spreads across the
men's arms and backs, on her head a black bonnet, around her neck her
pad and pen. we should be forgiven if this woman seems a sacrificial
offering as the bay they carry her to is completely uninhabited. a
black sand backs on to an endless rise of dense native bush.
the breakers are chaotic, the men strain to keep their footing,
calling to each other.
seamen
hold still you smutt! blast the
boat!
look up! look up!
lay to! lay to.
up with it you buggerers, hold
hard!
damn me won't you hold?!
etc.
two of the men are black, all are battered, tattooed and tough, some
are drunk.
behind the woman is her daughter, a girl of ten in scottish dress. she
too is carried on the shoulders of seamen.
ada is placed on the sand. she looks down at her feet sinking into the
wet sand, then up at the huge confusion of fern and bush in front of
her. the sound of sea behind is thunderous.
several of the seamen have formed a group and are pissing on the sand.
her daughter is on all fours evidently being sick. but ada's attention
is spanerted to the seamen who are staggering through the waves with a
huge piano shaped box. they put it down as soon as they get to 5hore
but ada makes gestures that they must immediately bring it to higher
safer ground. the piano placed to her satisfaction she hovers near it,
one hand in constant touch of it while her daughter grips her free
hand.
sc 10 ext beach day sc 10
two seamen finish carrying the last crate to shore. trunks and boxes
including an open crate with hens are scattered carelessly along the
shore.
the seamen gather together. after a discussion in which they look
between ada and her child and their coaster out on the sea, one of the
men approaches. behind him the other men keep their eyes out to sea or
down on the sand. they don't want to be involved. the sight of the
women alone on this beach is too hopeless.
seamen
it's a little rough out there.
could be they can't get through
to you in this weather. maybe
they'll come over land.
ada nods.
seamen
have you things for shelter?
ada nods.
seamen
what things have you?
ada signs to her daughter. the little girl speaks clearly and loudly
without emotion.
flora
she says, 'thank you'.
puzzled, the man walks off, then turns and comes back.
seamen
does your mother prefer to come
on with us to nelson?
ada signs vigorously to flora.
flora
she says, no. she says she'd
rather be boiled alive by
natives than get back in your
tub.
seamen
(stunned) you be damn fortuned
i don't smack your puppy gob,
missy. damn lucky.
scene 11 deleted
sc 12 ext beach day sc 12
ada is sheltering behind the crated piano, anxiety etched on her face.
flora is asleep at her feet a half eaten biscuit in her hand ada has
found a gap through the crate so that she might lift the lid and play
a few notes. the sweetness and comfort of the piano seem only to
exaggerate their isolation and hopelessness.
2- see notes
suddenly a rush of sea water shoots straight under the raised crate of
the piano wetting her shoes. ada stands, pushing flora onto her feet.
she is aghast to see the tide has crept in completely unnoticed.
they watch three of their boxes float out to sea. one of the hens has
escaped the crate and is bobbing up and down in the waves.
scene 13 deleted
sc 14 ext beach dusk sc 14
there is just a pink streak left in the sky. ada and flora shelter
inside their make-shift tent, a hooped petticoat secured at the edges
with stones. inside the tent a candle lights up their conversation.
ada is hand signaling a story to flora who lies back watching, nervous
and afraid. ada's whole self is involved in the 'telling', her face is
alight with expression, now tender, now sad, now humorous, now soft,
while her hands and fingers are deft and precise. from outside it is
an odd shadow play.
flora
(hand signaling) mother... i'm
thinking
ada pauses.
(speaking) i'm not going to
call him papa. i'm not going
to call him anything. i'm not
even going to look at him.
sc 15 ext bush on way to beach day sc 15
through a dense bush walk a party of fourteen maori people and two
european men. the wetness, closeness and darkness of the bush is such
that the air seems green, like at the bottom of a deep sea. two of the
maoris share one pair of shoes and all of them are clothed in a
mixture of native and european costume. of the europeans one is small
and has a shy manner. he has a half completed maori tattoo across his
cheeks. the other is a similar age about 45 and wears a suit, muddy
and out of place here in the bush. he staggers, spurts forward then
slows to a stop. his hair and face are wet and his skin reflects the
green foliage. baines the younger man turns and slows.
baines
are we stopping?... do you want
to stop?
the maori voices and laughter are becoming fainter. baines watches
torn between his concern for stewart and the split in their party.
3-see notes
baines
shall we stop?
unable to get an answer baines runs after the maoris.
baines
tai hoa! me tatari tatou .., me
tutatou i konei.
(wait! we are stopping.. we're
stopping.)
subtitled
stewart takes out a comb and drags it dazed and zombie like through
his wet hair. inside the darkness of his pocket, he turns over and
over a small, worn edged photograph, a smudge of green light allows us
to see ada's tumbling face. taking it in the heel of his hand he
secretly looks at it. just as the party return and settle he stares on
ahead possessed and determined.
stewart
we must get on.
the maoris look at baines bewildered.
tame
aue tepatupsiarehe!
(the fairy people, what can you
expect?)
subtitled
sc 16 ext beach morningsc 16
it is early morning. the sea is calmer and the tide is again low. the
party or two europeans and fourteen maori men and women come out on to
the beach. about half the maori party head straight for the shoreline
where an older woman loudly organises a pipi collection. all sorts of
containers are used from flax baskets to shirts with knots in their
arms. the rest follow stewart and baines over to the boxes. stewart
automatically re-combs his hair, patting it against his forehead,
where it sticks in a raked pattern. on his head he carefully places a
formal top hat, oddly dean compared to his mud splattered suit. the
party stops short of the petticoats where a tell-tale foot reveals its
occupants.
stewart
miss mcgrath, alisdair stewart.
you'll have to wake yourself.
i've got men here to carry your
things.
ada and flora struggle up to find themselves confronted by a group of
men and women. the maoris stare curiously and comment on the women.
aut he anahera enci?
(are they angels, they look
like angels.)
subtitled
a man points at flora's feet and gestures as if holding one of the
little shoes in his hand.
te monohi hoki!
(so small!)
subtitled
flora is struck by shyness and hides under her mother's skirt. ada
cannot look straight at stewart and stewart also cannot look at her.
stewart
i see you have a good many
boxes, i'd like to know what is
in each.
as ada does not move stewart is puzzled.
stewart
can - you - hear - me?
ada nods and looks up coldly, insulted by his slow loud speaking.
stewart
well that is good, yes that is
good, good.
stewart smiling searches ada's face for some sign of comprehension but
is unnerved by her lack of response. he stops smiling, and, patting
his hair walks to the closest box. several of the maori party follow
behind stewart while one of them closely and particularly mimics him.
stewart
what's in here?
ada points to the writing already on the box saying 'crockery and
pots'.
stewart
ohh, yes so it is, written
there, crockery.
stewart
and this one?
ada writes 'bedclothes and linen' on the pad around her neck- while
she writes he takes the opportunity to scrutinise her.
stewart
you're small. i never thought
you'd be small.
he walks to another chest
stewart
what's here?
she writes 'clothes'. the maori mimic also pretends to write.
finally he comes to the piano box. he lifts a corner experimentally.
stewart
what's in here then, lead?
flora
(gravely) it's my mother's
piano.
stewart
a piano?
the maoris touch the exposed legs of the piano. stewart speaks to the
other european man baines.
stewart
tell them to carry in pairs.
those three and those two the
black and the red, then the
suitcases.
stewart holds baines back a moment.
stewart
what do you think?
stewart nods towards ada. baines thinks a moment then turns towards
ada too.
baines
she looks tired.
stewart
she's stunted, that's one
thing.
baines walks over to hone a big man and the maorj leader, he stands
tall with a great sense of his own importance. (mana)
baines
anei nga pouaka - ko era e
toro.
me era e raa.
(here are the boxes, those
three and those two.)
unsubtitled
hone
e hoal
hone takes an aggressive fighting posture towards baines, insulted
that baines should suggest he might carry anything. hone does not
carrying, he is the boss. with great dignity hone retreats, too
injured to help. other maoris come up and baines assigns them boxes.
ada gets worried, the piano is being left alone. she writes on her
pad, 'the piano?' she shows stewart.
stewart
oh no, it can't come now.
flora
it must come.
stewart looks at flora
flora
she wants it to come.
stewart
yes and so do i, but there are
too few of us here to carry it.
too - heavy
ada writes 'i need the piano.' her maori mimic copies her.
stewart
do you mean you don't want your
kitchenware or your clothes? is
that what you mean?
ada signs to flora.
flora
we can't leave the piano
stewart
let us not discuss this
further. i am very pleased....
stewart slows down as he watches ada again sign to flora, he has the
uncomfortable impression he is being interrupted.
flora
mother wants to know if they
could come back directly for
it?
stewart is shocked, his mouth hangs slightly open, paused in mid
speech. tahu mimics this mouth drop perfectly.
flora
after they have taken the other
things?
stewart is growing confused and anxious. his two mimics and their
growing audience unnerve him further.
pito
kei riri a te raho maroke.
(shouted loudly at tahu)
(watch it dry balls is getting
touchy.)
subtitled
stewart nods suspiciously towards the maori speaker not understanding
him, the speaker smiles and nods back.
stewart
i suggest you prepare for a
difficult journey. the bush
will tear clothes and the mud
is deep in places.
stewart walks away. ada stands beside the piano turned away from the
activities. flora pats her hand trying to cheer her. down on the beach
a fire is lit and pipis are prepared for cooking. some of the young
men are racing naked into the sea.
stewart
(to baines about the maoris)
what are they doing? we don't
have time for that.
sc 17 exi beach day sc 17
it is some hours later and the carrying party are beginning to make
their way up into the bush. ada still stands beside her piano. flora
wants to follow the party. baines comes back along the beach, trailed
by a young maori boy, kaha.
baines
mr. stewart asked if i might
show you to the path. (ada does
not move) ... may i carry
something?
ada turns to baines, her face angry and defiant, her eyes full of
tears. baines falls back, struck by her show of emotion. ada and flora
walk past him toward the bush.
sc 18 ext cliff above beach day sc 18
the party threads its way through the bush along the cliff. ada pauses
at the cliff top to see her piano below on the sand, tiny and
desolate. its distance and her love of it suddenly strike her. its
music is faint and becomes loud over the next scene.
sc 19 ext bush from beach day sc 19
brown feet squelch through the mud, finally followed by dainty boots
caked in dirt. the maori leaders of the party have stopped.
4 - see note
baines works his way to the front.
baines
aha tenei?
(what is it?)
subtitled
hone
e hinga te koroua ra b pitama i
konci. kare noa kia hikina te
tapu.
(old man pitama died here.
(points to the spot)
the tapu hasn't been lifted)
unsubtitled
stewart struggles up to the front to join baines, he speaks over the
top of hone.
stewart
what's he say?
baines
someone died here. it's tapu.
stewart
but we came down this way
didn't we? i'm sure we did.
the maori leaders continue discussing.
0h pitama eh.
hone
e tarna heke atu ki ram - tiro
his atu.
rapuhia mai he huarahi re!
(go and look, find another
track eh!)
unsubtitled
tipi
'cia tupato he ana taniwba ke
raro na.
(go easy there's a ghost down
there.)
subtitled
hotu
'ca, rongo koe i te haunga a
tans tutae i te tuatahi. (you
smell his shit first.)
unsubtitled
stewart continues over the top of the maori discussion.
stewart
they want more money. they are
trying to make two days out of
it?
baines
no, no they know another track
- to the side of this.
ada and flora sit watching, out of breath. the bush is dense,
claustrophobic and exotic. one of the maori women sits close to ada
apparently not looking at her- slowly she draws the scarf that is in
ada's lap into her own. defiantly she puts it on.
meanwhile another woman makes a very dignified attempt to wipe the
freckles from flora's face.
sc 20 ext stewart's day sc 20
it is another day and stewart's hut, bleakly set amidst smoking stumps
is full of squeals, chasing and antics.
the reverend in frock coat has a wedding dress stuck part way up his
arms. it is not a normal wedding dress but a backless one used again
and again as a photographic prop. stewart's aunt morag and her
companion nessie are trying to pull it off.
aunt morag
watch your feet!
nessie
watch your feet!
ada and flora find the family fun frightening and have taken refuge in
the bedroom.
aunt morag
careful! watch his hand.
nessie
watch his hand
the reverend tickles his sister as she tries to get the sleeve off his
hand. nessie squeals with excitement.
aunt morag
stop it!
nessie looks towards ada panting with excitement at the fun.
aunt morag
(shooing the reverend out)
we'll bring out the bride.
the two women now fit the wedding dress on ada.
aunt morag
lift - your - arm - up - dear.
flora sits on the bed sulkily. she leans back and crosses her leg.
flora
my real father was a famous
german composer
aunt morag
ohh the tag is broken.
flora
(continues) .... they met when
my mother was an opera
singer... in luxemburg...
the two women pause to look at flora. ada signs to flora 'that's
enough!'
flora
why?
ada looks away, the two women finish primping the dress. flora crosses
her arms.
flora
i want to be in the photograph.
sc 22 ext stewart's hut day sc 22
nessie half holds an umbrella over ada as they make their way to where
the camera is setup in front of a chair and a sparse display of three
toi-toi. all about the house is muddy, so much so that they must weave
their way through on planks and logs. a fine veil of rain is falling
across the distant bush, the whole valley is shrouded in mist. stewart
looks through the camera at the reverend and the photographer who are
posing as the couple, complete with tatty bouquet. stewart notices
ada's arrival and seeing her as a real bride, his bride, he is
struckdumb with pride, even the rough tapes at the back or the dress
cannot destroy the illusion.
stewart
beautiful.
the umbrellas are held away, the rain pours down.
sc 23 int/ext stewarts hut bedroom day sc 23
aunt morag has brought a chair into the bedroom and sits knee to knee
with flora.
aunt morag
i thought she met your father
in luxemburg.
flora
well, yes, in austria where be
conducted the royal orchestra.
aunt morag
(frowning) and where did they
get married?
aunt morag checks to see if someone is coming.
flora
(her scottish accent becomes
thick and expressive) in an
enormous forest, with real
fairies as bridesmaids each
holding a little elf's hand.
aunt morag sits back, regarding flora with obvious disapproval and
disappointment. she smooths back her hair.
flora
no, i tell a lie, it was in a
small country church, near the
mountains
aunt morag is becoming involved again. she leans forward.
aunt morag
which mountains are those dear?
flora
the alps.
aunt morag
ohhh i've never been there.
(she leans forward)
flora
mother used to sing the songs
in german and her voice would
echo across the valleys
that was before the
accident....
aunt morag
oh what happened?
morag looks over her shoulder as flora continues to talk, so
persuasive is flora's storytelling that the scene comes vividly to
life, albeit in flora's dark pupil.
flora
one day when my mother and
father were singing together in
the forest, a great storm blew
up out of nowhere. but so
passionate was their singing
that they did not notice, nor
did they stop as the rain began
to fall and when their voices
rose for the final bars of the
duet a great bolt of lightening
came out of the sky and struck
my father so that he lit up
like a torch... and at the same
moment my father was struck
dead my mother was struck dumb!
she- never-spoke-another-word.
aunt morag
ohhh ... dear. not another word
from the shock, yes it would
be.
the story is interrupted by the return of the wedding party who are
dripping wet, exactly as the couple in the story. aunt morag bustles
over to take off the wet wedding gown, her face puckered with tragedy.
aunt morag
terrible. terrible
before she can undo the ties ada pulls it from herself so aggressively
that the ties and part of the gown comes apart. none of this is a
concern to ada who is distracted with fear for her piano. she crosses
to the little window and stares anxiously at the falling rain.
sc 24 ext beach dusk sc 24
soft piano music has been playing over the previous scene. now it
builds to strength as sea water swirls high around the piano, small
and embattled on the dark rainy beach.
sc 23 int stewart's hut bedroom day sc 25
it's morning of the next day. ada and flora sit amongst tea chests in
the bedroom. ada is signing intently to flora. flora signs back,
sometimes using words. stewart watches uneasy with their secret
communication. as stewart enters the animation is suspended. ada
stands and takes a step back as if to attention.
stewart
i shall be gone for some days.
there is some maori land i want
and may buy very reasonably.
(stewart shuffles) i am hoping
you will use the time to settle
in, and, in some ways we may
start again
flora and ada look at each other.
stewart
all right?
ada looks at him blankly, then nods.
sc 26 ext stewart's day sc 26
ada and flora dressed in cloaks and bonnets skirt the dense bush
trying to find a path in. it is not easy, because the bush is so
tight. ada's leg slides in up to her calf in mud.
sc 27 ext baines' day sc 27
ada and flora arrive at baines' rough hut. it is mid-morning but
baines is not yet dressed. ada hands him a note. baines looks at it
blankly.
baines
i'm not able to read.
ada signs to flora.
flora
please take us to the beach
where we landed.
baines
i'm sorry, i can't do that.
(flora and ada stare evenly at
him)
i don't have the time.
(they continue to stare.)
goodbye
sc 28 ext baines' day sc 28
it is much later when baines emerges from his hut with a saddle over
his arm. the two women are still there. ada looks up at him
expectantly.
flora mirrors her expression.
baines
i - can't - take - you there. i
can't do it.
he puts the saddle over a rail. he continues to saddle up, sneaking
glances at them from under the horse and around its side. they watch
him closely, not pleadingly, but stubbornly1 eerily of one mind.
sc 29 ext beach day sc 29
the sky is blue with long wisps of cloud.
the party of three break onto the long expanse of beach where the
piano still stands. it has not been without visitors. there are
footprints on the sand and some of the boards have been pulled back.
ada passes baines, walking urgently towards it. soon, ada has removed
enough boards that she may lift the lid and play the keys. emnes stays
back. ada takes great delight in feeling her fingers on the keys
again. her whole composition is altered. she is animated, joyful,
excited.
down on the wet sand flora does a wild dance of her own invention
using a seaweed wig. she finishes by rolling down the beach in the
sand.
baines views them with suspicion, yet he is magnetically drawn to the
spectacle he has never seen women behave with so much abandon. his
attention fixes on ada's uninhibited emotional playing, and as he
watches, he finds himself edging irresistibly closer.
sc 30 ext beach late after noonsc 30
the shadows are long on the sand when bain'es collects the boards. ada
and flora are attempting a duet. ada notices him come towards them
with the boards, obviously intending that they should leave. her mood
darkens, she continues playing stubbornly even though flora has
stopped. abruptly she finishes. in black spirits she replaces her cape
and bonnet. baines is struck by this sudden change, he watches her
mesmerised as he replaces the boards.
sc 31 ext beach night sc 31
from a helicopter, the camera tracks along the beach, following the
crashing wave line, to find the piano.
scene 32 deleted
sc 33 ext stewart's hut & kitchen dusk sc 33
the hut puffs smoke out into the valley. the lie of the land traps
sound like a shell and the clear high notes of a voice echo out.
suspicious that ada is singing, stewart approaches the house quietly.
through the open kitchen door he sees that the keys of a piano have
been etched on the table top. while ada 'plays' the notes flora sings
them.
stewart puts his pack down. ada stands to attention, folding the
tablecloth back over the table.
5, 6 + 7 see notes
stewart
hello, then.
flora
hello.
ada nods. stewart's hand explores the markings on the table. ada
watches his hand moving under the checked cloth.
sc 34 int mission house day sc 34
aunt morag, nessie and two maori girls dressed in proper victorian
costume are kneeling around a huge double white sheet, sewing and
cutting it. the maori girls are part of the mission's good works. they
are dressed in european style and while their training is in polite
proper domestic behaviour they constantly corrupt it with their
demonstrative displays of affection, and their clay tobacco pipes to
which they are addicted.
stewart is standing, looking on. baines is behind him in the kitchen
removing his boots.
aunt morag
(looking carefully at stewart)
well you stopped combing your
hair, which is a good thing, it
was looking over done.
(without pause but referring to
the sheet) you see these are
the slits that the heads will
go through, show him nessie ...
they'll be dead, the reverend
is going to use animal blood,
no doubt it will be very
dramatic. tea!
(for nessie rather than to her)
nessie
it will be very dramatic.
nessie leaves to get the tea. heni, the maori girl with a moku tickles
mari's back while she sews.
they sing the anthem in snatches. it is background to the
conversation.
stewart
(sitting down)
what would you think if someone
played a kitchen table like it
were a piano?
aunt morag
like it were a piano?
stewart
it's strange isn't it? i mean
it's not a piano, it doesn't
make any sound.
nessib puts stewart's tea down. baines comes in with his tea cup
dwarfed in his big hands. he stands back leaning against a wall.
aunt morag
(hissing to nessie) biscuits.'
no, no sound.
nessie hustles back to the kitchen.
stewart
i knew she was mute, but now
i'm thinking it's more than
that. i'm wondering if she's
not brain affected.
aunt morag
no sound at all?
stewart
no, it was a table.
aunt morag
(musing) well, she was very
violent with the gown. she tore
off a chunk of lace. if hadn't
been there i'd have sworn she'd
used her teeth
nessie
and wiped her feet an it.
stewart
well it has not yet come to
anything. just a concern.
aunt morag pats her chest. a calming device.
aunt morag
oh, yes, yes of course, a
concern.
stewart
there is something to be said
for silence
aunt morag
oh indeed. cotton'.
she holds her needle up for nessie to thread.
stewart
(warming) and with time she
will, i'm sure, become
affectionate.
aunt morag
certainly, there is nothing so
easy to like as a pet and they
are quite silent.
baines watches quietly on.
sc 35 ext stewart's woodchop day sc 35
stewart is at the woodshop cutting firewood. he displays his
virtuosity as an axeman, cutting the wood into ever more slender
pieces, flora is watching and stacking the fallen timber. she flinches
as the axe hits the wood, but scurries in to pick up the timber.
baines is standing talking to stewart.
baines
those 80 acres, that cross the
stream, what do you think of
them?
stewart
on your property?
baines
yes
baines carries a log across for stewart who talks without pausing in
his work,
stewart
good, flatish land with
reliable water, why? i don't
have money. what are you about?
baines
i'd like to make a swap.
stewart
what for?
baines
the piano.
stewart
the piano on the beach? ada's
piano?
baines nods. stewart stops, this is serious.
stewart
it's not marshy is it?
stewart has walked a few paces away from his wood chop in the
direction of the land.
baines
no.
stewart
you'd have to organise it up
here.
baines
yes, i thought that.
stewart
well baines the music lover, i
never would have known. hidden
talents george.
baines
i'll have to get lessons. it
wouldn't be much use without
them.
stewart
yes, i suppose you would.
baines remains silent. he looks away.
stewart
well ada can play.
baines shrugs.
stewart
i have it in a letter she plays
well. she's been playing since
she was 5 or6.
flora has stopped stacking. she is lying along the top of the wood,
lifting a leg up and down, watching the men.
sc 36 int stewart's kjtchen day sc 36
stewart, flushed with his plans, is pouring tea into cups. flora peers
at cup level through the steam. ada sits beside her at the table.
stewart
i have got us some excellent
land. baines has taken some
queer idea to have a piano, and
you are to give him lessons.
have you taught before?
ada signs to flora.
flora
what on?
stewart
on your piano, that is the
swap.
ala finger signs, her face furious.
stewart
what does she say?
flora
she says it's her piano, and
she won't have him touch it.
he's an oaf, he can't read,
he's ignorant.
stewart
he wants to improve himself...
and you will be able to play on
it ... (ada is not responding
well) teach him to look after
it.
ada's breathing becomes heavy with anger, she writes curiously on her
pad.
no! no! the piano is mine! it's
mine!
stewart regards her note and her passion with suspicion and disdain
stewart
(getting up) you can't go on
like this, we are a family now,
all of us make sacrifices and
so will you.
you will teach him. i shall see
to that!
ada's emotions are suddenly removed and she views stewart blankly,
eerily so.
sc 37 ext bush from beach day sc 37
the piano is taken up through the bush by a group of six to eight
maori men. it's very heavy and awkward and they grunt and struggle
with it.
him na ake 'nun na'.
(lift up the back)
unsubtitled
tern - tern!
(ass hole!)
hei niti niti maan!
(turning around)
you lick it.)
someone stumbles and the back of the piano comes crashing to the
ground thundering out in the bottom end of the scale. people scatter.
only one stays who warrior like challenges the piano.
sc 38 ext path to baines day sc38
the women duck low to avoid a branch as stewart leads them to baine's
hut. stewart carries the piano stool. the path slopes up through a
strange, bearded forest where the tops of trees are bare and ghost
like.
stewart
i'd try children's tunes,
nothing more complicated
ada is unrepentant, she does not want to teach baines the piano.
stewart
just be encouraging no one expects him to be good.
sc 39 int/ext baines' hut day sc 39
the piano is the only cared for item in the rough hut
stewart
(lifting the lid) it looks
good, very nice looking thing.
well . i wish you luck. the girls
are very excited about the
lessons.
the 'girls' look anything but excited. flora shy, plays obsessively
with a long strand of greasy hair. ada is cold and grim.
stewart
flora will explain anything ada says.
they talk through their fingers,
you can't believe what they say
with just their hands.
stewart leaves. bajnes goes to the piano and lifts the lid. he looks
at them. ada signs to flora.
flora
my mother wants to see your
hands. hold them out.
baines holds out his hands, spread wide as if holding a ball.
no, no, like this
flora puts her neat little fingers together, first with their backs up
then she turns them over. haines does the same only his bands are big
and coarse. ada signs to flora. baines is shyly keen.
flora
you have to wash them.
baines
they are washed.
ada signs.
flora
wash them again.
baines
the marks do not come out.
they are scars and hardened
skin.
ada and flora do not move. humiliated baines takes a scrub brush, soap
and bucket and goes outside. ada can see him from the window. she
moves to her piano. she wants to touch it but she is torn by her
feelings, wanting it, but not owning it. she strokes the varnished
wood with her hand and softly lifts the lid. outside flora stands
beside baines pointing out hits of his hand he should still scrub.
furtively she lays her hands on the keys. the instrument is horribly
out of tune, almost every note is off. she goes outside and signs to
flora.
flora
there's no tune left in the
piano so she can't teach you.
the two women leave.
sc40 ext steep bush hill day sc40
two men come crashing out down a steep bush hill, they are tied to
each other. baines, the younger and stronger, is trying to break their
fall by grasping hold of branches and shoots. finally their fall is
checked. the old man is white haired, the front of his suit splattered
with the debris of many meals. he sits up feeling about for his
glasses. he is blind. his eyes, though closed, wobble and roll baines
finds the glasses one of the lenses has gone, the other is very dark.
the old man fits his handkerchief in the gap.
sc 41 ext hugescree day sc 41
baines carries the old man on his back, they cross a huge scree. each
of baines' steps dislodge a fall of rocks. the crashing of stones
echoes across the valley. baines and he are but small dots in this
giant earth scar
scene 42 deleted
sc 43 int baines' hut day sc 43
inside baines' hut the old man feels the piano.
blind man
ah, a broadbent. a fine
instrument. i've not come
across one here, or in the
islands where i have tuned some
200. yes, they like their
pianos there.
out of his pocket he takes a carefully wrapped tuning fork. he unwraps
the package, lifts the back and lid and starts to tune. he sniffs the
air. baines watches, he sniffs close to the keys.
scent? and salt of course.
he works on.
what will you play when it's
tuned? what music do you play?
bains looks over at him from the meal he is preparing.
baines
i can't play.
the blind man stops working.
blind man
you don't play?
baines
no, i can't.
i'm going to learn.
the man goes back to work somewhat depressed by the futility of the
venture.
blind man
well my dear miss broadbent,
tuned, but silent.
scene 44 deleted
scene 45 deleted
sc 46 ext baines' hut morningsc 46
a slash of sunlight falls across the piano. thousands of particles of
dust become visible floating in the air. baines is at the window in
his shirt/night shirt. he notices the dust on the piano and strips off
his shirt which he uses as a duster. under the shirt he is naked. as
he wipes the smooth wood he becomes aware of his nakedness. his
movements become slower until he is no longer cleaning, but caressing
the piano.
sc 47 ext path to baines' day sc 47
on the path to baines' house, ada and flora sit in the bush. ada's
head is bowed. her hands held over her face. flora tries to catch the
spots of light in her palm as they twinkle through the thick canopy of
leaves over head.
sc 48 ext/int baines' hut day sc 48
the door opens. ada and flora stand in their cloaks and bonnets.
flora
mother says she can't stand to
teach piano with it all out or
tune. so i'm to do scales.
ada turns and walks off. flora bustles in. baines watches ada from the
window,
flora
i hope you've scrubbed your
hands.
flora begins a scale.
oh, it's in tune.
she looks over at baines who is still gazing out the window.
flora
what's out there?
she gets up to see what baines is looking at. she sees her mother and
spanines baines is looking at nothing.
flora
you have to watch me where i
put my fingers.
flora starts again. ada can only hear the piano faintly but moves
closer as she too hears it's in tune.
as she enters the hut baines pulls his fingers away from the piano.
flora sees this and stops too. she looks at her mother.
flora
it's in tune.
ada checks the other notes. flora stands with her arms folded, a bit
sulky and fluffed up.
flora
(hissing) i was teaching.
ada tries the piano. she looks over at baines then signs to flora.
flora
she wants to see what you can
do.
baines
i'd rather not play. i want to
listen and learn that way.
flora
everyone has to practice.
baines
i just want to listen.
ada is a bit nonplussed. she does not want to be listened to anymore
than she wants to teach. she pulls a strand of her hair then signs to
flora.
flora
what do you want to hear?
baiwes shrugs shyly and locks away out the window. he doesn't know
baines
anything.
ada is slow to start. unobliging as ever she plays scales. but once
begun her belligerence fades as her absorption in the music
strengthens.
sc 49 int stewart's hut/ada's bedroom night sc 49
back at stewart's hut, ada lies dispirited on the bed. flora lies
beside her holding ada's hand.
flora
tell me about my real father.
ada nods and strokes flora's hair from her face. flora leans back.
how did you speak to him?
ada signs to flora who watches in love with all the stories of her
mother and unreal father.
ada (subtitled)
i didn't need to speak, i could
lay thoughts out in his mind
like they were a sheet
flora
what happened? why didn't you
get married?
ada continues to sign her hands casting odd animal like shadows on the
newspapered walls.
ada cont.
after a while he became
frightened and he stopped
listening.
stewart enters their bedroom. flora stops and ada stands against the
wall. stewart finds the atmosphere curious yet impenetrate.
stewart
shall i kiss you goodnight?
flora looks up at her mother. ada shrugs.
stewart nods stiffly, and uncomfortably, he leaves.
sc 50 ext baines' verandah day sc 50
it's raining heavily, flora sits on the small verandah outside baines'
hut, her legs stuck straight out into the wet. she is overseeing a
merciless power game with the dog, forcing it out of the verandah with
a stick.
sc 51 int baine's hut day sc 51
ada's playing can be heard inside. baines sits back watching ada. her
cape on the hook is dripping a puddle on to the floor and there is a
circle of drips around her skirt hem. she is totally absorbed in her
piano music as she was on the beach.
baines watches. her long white neck, now wet from rain, proves
irresistible. he comes across the room and kisses her. ada jumps up
and prepares to leave. baines stands in front of the door.
baines
do you know how to bargain, nod
if you do.
she doesn't move,
there's a way you can have your
piano back. do you want it
back? you want it back?
ada eyes him suspiciously.
baines
you see i'd like us to make a
deal. there's things i want to
do while you stay. if you let
me you can earn it back.
what do you think, one visit
for every key.
ada is tense but she is thinking about it. she holds up a finger then
points to the black of her dress.
baines
your dress?
ada shakes her head.
skirt ...?
she walks over to her piano and points to a black key.
for every black one?
ada turns raising her head, nodding.
that's a lot less, half.
baines is counting the keys. ada starts for the front door.
all right, all right then, the
black keys.
she sits back at the piano. she plays the lowest black key as in
number one
she takes her hands off the piano waiting.
it's better that you play.
obediently she begins, stopping abruptly, indignantly, as he touches
her neck.
baines
play... keep playing.
after a moment she settles back to the piano.
sc 52 ext baines' verandah day sc 52
outside flora is cradling the poor confused dog, asking him what cruel
miserable person had sent him out into the cold and wet.
sc 53 ext riverhole near baines' day sc 53
baines bathes in a riverhole. he is watched by a gathering of maori,
sometimes with great seriousness, at other times with hilarity. they
pass between them his clothes, trying them on and mimicking him. one
of the older women hira crouches close to the bank keeping up a steady
line of inquiry. her manner is relaxed but focused and persistent. she
smokes a pipe-
hira
i got the good wife for you
peini. she pray good. clean.
read bible. you sleep her
peini. she chief daughter.
baines
no, no bible readers.
baines continues good humouredly washing.
hira
why? we need you pakeha clever.
you sleep her.
tahu
(a big man dressed as a woman)
(background) i give her plenty
clever. (gestures sexually)
baines
i have a wife.
tahu
(camping it up) i give her
clever eb peini. hallelujah!
hira
don't answer, he low born. jun
look at him, mongrel. your wife
where she?
baines
she lives her own life in new
jersey, america.
hira
you have spare wife here peini.
you get rnana for that. our
chief four wives.
baines shakes his head amusedly. as he gets out of the river hira
slaps him.
i marry white man peini, he a
whaler like you. he very good
to me. love me, nurse me.
hira touches her own face where baines' tattoo is.
hira
who do that? it not finish,
that no good peini. you finish!
several people on the bank are taking turns to comb their hair,
peering into a tiny piece of mirror.
sc 54 ext/int baines' hut day sc 54
baines' dog hears ada and flora approach. it takes off under the
house. flora calls the dog. it keeps well hidden. ada has gone on
inside and the door is closed. flora stands outside the door left out
and lonely. she knocks. baines answers.
flora
(small voice)
i want to speak to my mother
she buries her head in her mother's skirt.
i don't want to be outside, i
want to watch.
ada signs to flora.
i'll be very quiet.
ada leads her to the door signing to her
i won't look at him!
flora is shut out.
sc 55 int baines' hut day sc 55
ada sits at the piano. she is shy and nervous she turns to baines who
nods. ada begins to play. bainies keeps his head bowed, but as the
playing becomes more confident he raises his head to watch. he sits
at a far corner of the room apparently enjoying the whole vision or
this woman at her piano.
after some time baines, affected by the music, takes his chair to a
closer position and from an opposite angle. ada glances up as she
feels him passing behind her. he seems satisfied to watch. his
attention finally focuses on her neck as it bends further or closer to
the piano.
again he shifts his chair, taking it round the back and to the other
side of the piano. as he moves ada watches warily. from this position
be doesn't try to touch her, but watches, enjoying her fingers moving
on the keys and the small details of motion on her face. twice he
closes his eyes and breathes deeply baines is experiencing an
unpractised sense of appreciation and lust. when his eyes are closed,
ada glances at him with curiosity and suspicion.
sc 56 int school hall day sc 56
flora stands on a kitchen chair. aunt morag and nessie have paused
from fitting flora's bodice and wire angel wings. they are attempting
to learn the hand gestures as flora signs:
'i shall listen hard to rehearsal,
because i live too
far away to go often.'
aunt morag
(suspiciously) which sign is
the word rehearsal?
flora deftly demonstrates.
aunt morag
i can't imagine a fate worse
than being dumb. turn around.
nessie
to be deaf?
aunt morag
oh yes, dear too - terrible!
awful!''
flora
actually, to tell you the whole
truth, mama says most people
speak rubbish and it's not
worth the listen.
aunt morag and nessie exchange looks.
aunt morag
(stiffly) well, that is a
strong opinion.
flora
yes, it's unholy.
sc 57 int baines' hut day sc 57
ada is quick to remove a used plate and cup left on top of the piano.
baines is sitting next to the window, his elbow on the sill, his head
turned away.
baines
lift your skirt,
ada stops playing. she turns to him. thinks about it then slowly lifts
her skirt a little to show her boots.
lift it higher.
ada pulls the skirt up fractionally so the top other boots are
exposed.
bainies nods ada starts to play again, not so confidently as before.
baines moves close, he goes down on his knees to watch her feet on the
pedals.
baines
higher.
ada doesn't hear.
lift it higher.
she stops and lifts her skirt to her knees. she looks at baines with
ill-disguised contempt. baines is enthralled with her legs, or what he
can now see of them. he moves back to watch them from behind. he's
lying on the ground, head propped on his arm. ada's slim stockinged
calves work the pedals, one of the stockings has a small hole through
which her white skins shows
sc 58 ext mission house grounds dusk sc 58
heni holds stewart's horse near a wooden gate. its wet coat steams in
he night air, making the whole horse glow. heni talks softly to it in
maori.
sc 59 int mission house night sc 59
inside the reverend is closely watched by stewart, aunt morag and
nessie as he cuts out the shape of an axe from a piece of marbled
cardboard. a lamplight flickers warm tones across their faces while
the rest of the room is dark giving it a conspiratorial air.
reverend
nessie, your hand out ... out
here, please.
nessie
oh, no use mr stewart, i can't
act.
reverend
nessie, please.
nessie hesitatingly puts her arm out towards him and the reverend
chops away in the air two feet in front other, nessie looks at aunt
morag puzzled.
