電影劇本：SHANGHAI JEWS (11)

(11)

EXT. STREETS -- INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENT -- DAY

Hans gets off the bus and scurries toward Nanjing Road and the Bund. SASSOON HOTEL is situated among other magnificent buildings of department stores, banks, hotels, offices, theaters and the like.

BRITISH POLICEMEN are on duty in their British uniforms. INDIAN JANITORS, bearded and turban clad, stand guard in front of entrances of those impressive buildings.

INT. ENTRANCE HALL -- SASSOON HOTEL -- DAY

Hans heads directly up to a CLERK in charge of registration.

HANS

Excuse me, sir, I'm looking for the Rosenfeld family. R-O-S-E-N-F-E-L-D. It's either under Mark, or Anna.

The clerk thumbs through the registration book. He is about to give up, when he suddenly finds their names.

CLERK

(in cockney accent)

The Rosenfeld family, Alas, they checked out five month ago.

HANS

(in haste)

Do you have their address? Did they leave you a forwarding number?

CLERK

I'm sorry, they didn't leave any information. Perhaps they moved to the French concession. There are many nice apartments near Avenue Joffre. I've heard some Jews have moved to that area.

HANS

Is there anywhere else you might have their forwarding information? It's extremely important.

CLERK

No, I'm afraid, Sir.

HANS

Thank you for your help. Uh, can you tell me where the French concession is?

EXT. STREETS -- FRENCH CONCESSION -- DAY

FRENCH POLICEMEN direct traffic, wearing French style uniforms and stiff pillbox hats with round brims. Electric trolleys, streetcars and buses fill the streets. Hans can be seen from the window of a bus.

INT. BUS -- DAY

The bus stops at the JEWISH HOSPITAL. A Line of passengers gets off. Hans fights his way through the crowded bus, but the doors close before he gets to the front.  He slaps the closed door in vain.

EXT. STREETS -- FRENCH CONCESSION -- DAY

Hans walks along the tree-lined AVENUE JOFFRE, passing by Vodka Bakery, Russ Restaurant, Siberian Furs, Czar's Jewels, and other Russian establishments.

Hans goes in and out of varieties of stores owned by RUSSIAN JEWS wearing traditional Russian clothes. Hans can hardly acquire any information from those Russian shopkeepers who only shrug and shake their heads.

RUSSIAN SHOPKEEPER

As I know, most of the newly coming refugees live in Hongkow, where we Russian Jews had lived since we escaped from the Russian Revolution after 1917.

HANS

So, you also lived in Hongkow before.

SHOPKEEPER

Yeah, da, da, da. Since we prospered, we moved out of Hongkow and have been doing business here in the French concession. Are you sure your newcomer friends live in this area?

HANS

No, I'm not sure.

EXT. ALLEYS -- FRENCH CONCESSION -- NIGHT

Hans shuffles along an alley, exhausted and frustrated.

A Chinese PEDDLER passes, carrying a bamboo pole over his shoulders, with heavy loads of food bins hanging from each end of the pole.

PEDDLER

(chanting in Shanghai dialect)

Red been soup, tea eggs, bacon rice pudding.

Hans stops the peddler, buys one of everything, and devours.

EXT. STREETS -- FRENCH CONCESSION -- NIGHT

The rain begins to fall in torrents, soaking Hans' clothes. Hans runs toward shelter, accompanied by thunder and lightning.

EXT. SYNAGOGUE -- FRENCH CONCESSION -- NIGHT

Hans passes by a new SYNAGOGUE in the process of being constructed by the Russian Jews, and stands in the doorway taking shelter from the rain.

INT. SYNAGOGUE -- NIGHT

Hans walks around the partially completed synagogue, faces what will soon be the PULPIT and prays.

Hans falls into a sleep on the bare floor of the synagogue, his body shrinking with cold in the enormous room.

As dawn approaches, it finally stops raining. A JANITOR reports for duty and wakes Hans up. Hans runs off.

EXT. LANE -- HONGKOW -- DAY

Hans walks through an alley and sees the four Jewish musicians play music in front of an iron gate, the entrance to a compound of houses. The iron gate opens onto a main lane running down the center of the houses and branching out to narrow lanes on either side. These two-story houses all look the same, with red brick walls and black wooden doors.

EXT. HOUSE -- LANE -- DAY

Hans follows the four musicians to a house where a Chinese traditional wedding ceremony is being held. The musicians use western-style instruments to produce harmonious CHINESE WEDDING MELODIES.

All over the walls, doors and windows, people glue colored-paper cuttings with lucky words, such as Chinese character "DOUBLE-HAPPINESS." FIRECRACKERS explode to celebrate.

The HOST of the family hands out small red bags filled with bonus money. When the four Jewish musicians stop playing to receive their bonus, Hans accosts them and shakes hands with them.

HANS

Hey, I know you guys. You played with popular bands in Germany. You were the talk of the town.

VIOLINIST

Well, Shanghai is our town now.

TRUMPETER

We now play in wedding or funeral ceremonies to earn a living, from hand to mouth.

FLUTIST

We don't get quite the same reception as we did back home, but at least we're playing for funerals and not the other way around.

HANS

I'm a huge fan of yours. I used to listen to your records all the time.  Too bad I couldn't bring my gramophone with me.

DRUMMER

Hey, Buddy, let's have a drink together later. We can talk about everything we had to leave behind. Come on in until we're done.

INT. CORRIDOR -- HOUSE -- DAY

Among a crowd of GUESTS, Hans cranes his neck to see through the window the wedding ceremony going on inside the room.

HANS' POV THROUGH WINDOW

The couple stand in front of a table covered with a red cloth. On the table are candle sticks and incense holders. The BRIDE wears a red embroidered gown. A red silk veil covers her head to conceal her face. The GROOM wears a traditional black mandarin gown, decorated with red silk flowers. A small silk cap perches on the top of his head.

Their PARENTS sit in the seats of honor, waiting for the couple to kneel and bow. The bride and groom follow the WITNESS' orders.

WEDDING WITNESS

First, bow to Heaven and Earth. Second, bow to your parents and parents-in-law. Finally, the couple bow to each other.

Following traditional Chinese custom, the groom, with a rod, removes the red silk veil from the bride's head to reveal her face.

Anna's FACE is revealed from behind the red silk veil. In her Chinese bridal gown, Anna smiles at the groom, who turns out to be Hans, in mandarin gown. Hans stares at Anna with a loving, yet funny grin.

BACK TO SCENE

Hans winks his eyes, chuckles and shakes his head to clear it from his ILLUSIONS.

(CONTINUING)