Monday, February 14, 2011

Treatement - An Itchy Adventure - Title not definitive.

Treatment.

 Its 1953 and a clear sky accompanied by a beautiful sunlight baths Paris. The precise time is 3 o’clock, on the 15th of June 1953. In the 5th arrondissement, a school bell starts ringing and a horde of children storm out unto an unsuspecting summer. Excitement is ripe and we notice two youngsters take the lead, running past the completely overrun circulation police man. Bruno and Lola are eleven and are possessed of the malicious intelligence that can turn sweet children into ravening jokers.

A mail truck breaks suddenly and stops right at the front of the zebra crossing, as a sudden flood of toddlers sweep the asphalt. The leading ones have now reached the other sidewalk, running past a joke shop, two wall painters, André and Maurice, repairing the façade. The shop is typical of Paris. Unable to withstand the urge to start the summer on a fly, they stop as one pulls the others collar in a spectacular fashion and they both consider the two men.

Being full of mischievous wit, they head inside. We get a look at the two painters, as the camera gives us two close ups of their faces.

Lorenzo is an old Italian who came to Paris years back, and he can recognize mischief when he sees it. Yet one is not a joke shop keeper for the sake of it, and he fully approves of the youths attitude, until it goes to far even for him. Bruno points at a pile of little brown bags, and asks for two. The brave Lorenzo gives them to him pointing at a 2 Francs sign, as the two give each other meaningful looks. They suddenly break out in a run towards a door left ajar. We notice a – Staff Only – sign.

Lorenzo is old, yet he starts to chase them, shouting vulgarities in a way only an Italian living in France could do.

At the same time, our two muralists are taking a break, their painting left on standby. One of them pulls out a cigarette, lighting it in spite of the flammable paint next to him. The other is having a sandwich.

An unbalanced race up the stairs of the old building starts, becoming abstract as they climb up the stairs. Lorenzo is unable to keep up, annoyance etched on his face. A bluish tinge swallows the stair case as the stairs become black geometrical shapes. A sideways view show the children reaching the top, as we sometimes see the old shop keep struggling in colour to reach them. As the shenanigans reach the top, Lorenzo reaches an open door, and thinking them to be inside enters determination and a will to punish those two trouble makers.

The two artists are unconcerned and greatly unaware of the danger heading their way! Bruno and Lola have now reached the edge of the wall, looking down at the two men, and the supporting structure of their platform to their right. 

We then start a sequence of quick alternating camera views of the two conflicting groups. The children are raising their arms, their projectiles proudly held high, ready to be thrown. The men are unaware of the danger. They throw the bags, whose content is still unknown to us. They land in an explosive manner, itching powder spreading everywhere as Maurice starts moving around, drops his cigarette inside the paint pot, setting it and himself on fire.

Lorenzo sees the flames through the window. He grabs a fire extinguisher on the side, runs and throws it at André. The painter catches it and sprays Maurice, as the burning platform burns and breaks under their weight. Turning on the fire extinguisher propels André backwards as his legs catch the edge of the platform and he is pushed back wards, the bar under his knees, in a similar fashion to a trapeze artist. The motion shouts him upwards, the counter effect being shown as Maurice who has grabbed the opposite bar is swinging behind him. They spin once. We see André fly past the two bewildered jokers. Maurice follows, as the platform as trouble holding their weight.

It breaks! The two unlucky painters fall downward unto the awning. They bounce in a spectacular and comical manner. This makes them fly across the street, under the incredulous eyes of a really outreached police man.

We see the back of a truck with Mail written on it driving by, leaving a pile of bags behind. The two men fly towards it and as we get a look at what is written on the bags, we can read – Itching Powder – all over it. After a last look at the terrified faces of our two sties, the story ends.

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