- Type
- Short Film
Song of a Fifth Grade Samurai
A boy who pretends to be a hero winds up becoming one against his will.
"Once upon a time there was a boy who was neither big nor strong, but inside, in his imagination, he was a mighty samurai warrior."
Scene 1 introduces us to the world inhabited by the imaginary alter-egos of these children. We meet Ronald the samurai and his friends the klingon, the wizard and the foppish dandy prince.
In scene 2, make-believe melts into reality when a bully confronts the boys. Only the samurai retains his imaginary persona and stands up in defiance. This results in a samurai with a wedgie stuffed in a trash can.
In scene 3 Ronald is rescued from the garbage by the adorable Sally. He begins to see a possible upside to growing up, as well as the value in being himself.
In the final scene, Ronald enters the playground as himself, looking for Sally. When he sees the bully picking on his friends, the samurai takes over.
In one punch, the samurai persona is beaten out for good. It is not Ronald the samurai but Ronald the scared little boy who refuses to back down, who refuses to bend to the will of the oppressor.
A crowd of gawkers surround him as he endures a series of beatings, refusing to stay down. The end of the script reads:
"Ronald rises again, his face a mess of blood, snot and tears. He doesn't even raise his hands in defense. He is openly weeping but he won't stay down. The expressions in the crowd change from pity to outrage. Slow push on the Bully as his face drops.
The camera rises over Ronald and we see the crowd no longer as children, but as their imaginary alter-egos. The mass of victims has become an army. Superheroes cross their arms. Cowgirls crack their knuckles. A lightsaber flares up in the background. Sally steps in front to join their ranks.
As Ronald looks back, she has changed into a Blaxploitation-era FOXY MAMA. A chain dangles from her left fist. She kisses the brass knuckles that adorn her right.
Ronald looks back at the Bully but makes no attempt to swing at him. He simply stands there looking resolute. This is how it is, and this is how it will be from now on.
CUT TO BLACK"
*This is a story told in images - camera direction is integral to the script and dialogue is almost nonexistent.
Scene 1 introduces us to the world inhabited by the imaginary alter-egos of these children. We meet Ronald the samurai and his friends the klingon, the wizard and the foppish dandy prince.
In scene 2, make-believe melts into reality when a bully confronts the boys. Only the samurai retains his imaginary persona and stands up in defiance. This results in a samurai with a wedgie stuffed in a trash can.
In scene 3 Ronald is rescued from the garbage by the adorable Sally. He begins to see a possible upside to growing up, as well as the value in being himself.
In the final scene, Ronald enters the playground as himself, looking for Sally. When he sees the bully picking on his friends, the samurai takes over.
In one punch, the samurai persona is beaten out for good. It is not Ronald the samurai but Ronald the scared little boy who refuses to back down, who refuses to bend to the will of the oppressor.
A crowd of gawkers surround him as he endures a series of beatings, refusing to stay down. The end of the script reads:
"Ronald rises again, his face a mess of blood, snot and tears. He doesn't even raise his hands in defense. He is openly weeping but he won't stay down. The expressions in the crowd change from pity to outrage. Slow push on the Bully as his face drops.
The camera rises over Ronald and we see the crowd no longer as children, but as their imaginary alter-egos. The mass of victims has become an army. Superheroes cross their arms. Cowgirls crack their knuckles. A lightsaber flares up in the background. Sally steps in front to join their ranks.
As Ronald looks back, she has changed into a Blaxploitation-era FOXY MAMA. A chain dangles from her left fist. She kisses the brass knuckles that adorn her right.
Ronald looks back at the Bully but makes no attempt to swing at him. He simply stands there looking resolute. This is how it is, and this is how it will be from now on.
CUT TO BLACK"
*This is a story told in images - camera direction is integral to the script and dialogue is almost nonexistent.
Comments (28)
Juan Romero Telus .
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September 2, 2011Sylvia Santaballa fabulous script. Five stars!
June 20, 2010David Kreutzer Because of the lack of dialogue and dense action descriptions, the one-page-per-minute theory has gone out the window. My best guess puts the running time around eight minutes plus credits.
May 26, 2009Killer Production Team Leo Woodhead Hey David,
May 26, 2009Brilliant (shooting) script, and an original idea. I also like the pitch and your inspirations for the story.
The only issue for me is that it's too short! You could have made it longer and utilised more of a page count - i wanted to see more of Ronald and his world.
However, it's a great idea and well executed. Great work!
Henrietta Frasier You had me from the first line
May 22, 2009Pierre Stefanos Hey David - Kids seem to be really popular here! :~) All that camera speak really got distracting as well as the dense paragraphs, but I understood the heart of your story. It's very cute and it sounds like your ideas to carry it off would work. Good luck!
May 21, 2009Kt King i likee
May 21, 2009Jeremy McLaughlin Nice work David! Hope it makes it to production.
May 21, 2009Wes Phillips Most excellent, indeed. I'm rooting for you.
May 21, 2009