Life at 0Km/h

Life at 0Km/h

A Screenplay by Maan
"

Life moves at an insane pace and we are mostly stuck figuring it out, and forget to live it. The point where we understand that not all need to be understood and comprehended - it gets too late.

"


[The Camera is set/zoomed in on the clock tower across the road that strikes 6:01. The sun is setting in a metropolitan city" the camera zooms out to its actual position in the middle of the road, and traffic is going through at 70-80Km/h. People rushing back to their homes, tired and drained.]


[Camera rolls without clicking to another scene and moves from one car to another]


Car 1: A middle-aged white man [35-40], talking to his wife, “Yes honey, I’ll be there in an hour. We’ll leave for the party as soon as I reach back home. You are ready. Yeah, Okay. I Love You” Man sighs lightly and hangs up the phone.


The camera moves to another car;


Car 2: A young black woman (25-30 years old), talking to her friend sitting in the passenger car, “this is the reality, Amber, I gave five years of my life to this company, and here I go, rewarded with nothing" he said to my face that I am replaceable, like seriously? To my face… this is not done. ” Woman sighs and looks outside “this is not done.”


The camera moves to the next car;


Car 3: A 5-year-old kid sitting on the passenger seat of a family car with his dad, “Dad, I miss mom; why can’t mom live with us?” Dad sighs and smiles" and caresses the boy’s head, “We can go and meet her whenever you want to.”


[Scene changes in the same settings" Camera is set/zoomed in on the clock tower across the road that strikes 8:31" the sun is shining in all its glory" the camera zooms out to its actual position in the middle of the road and traffic is going away at a 70-80Kmh. People rushing to their workplaces, ready to face another day.]


[The camera rolls without clicking to another scene and moves from one car to another]


Car 1: Same car, the same guy from previous settings, talking to someone on call. “Yes, I’ll be there in 20mins, hold the meeting. This client can be a make-or-break matter for our department.”

The camera moves to another car;


Car 2: Same car, the same girl from the previous settings but this time in an ambulance, rushing through the traffic with alarm turned on. The girl’s friend and her brother sitting next to her in an ambulance, all worried and trying to wake her up

Her brother on the call to mother, “She was all right an hour ago, and on the breakfast table, she was telling me that she’ll quit her job...”

The camera moves to the next car;


Car 3: A 5-year-old kid sitting on the passenger seat of a family car with his dad (who is now in office attire), “Dad, I want to live with mom; I don’t want to live with you.” Dad sighs" and caresses the boy’s head without saying a word.


[The Camera is set an initial position in the middle of the road, and traffic is going through at 70-80Km/h. People are rushing back to their homes, tired and drained. //sunset settings.]

Traffic started rushing through faster that only their rear taillights are visible now.]


Everything Freezes in the Frame… and the camera slowly moves up // like a drone going up. And focuses on a kid sitting on the overhead bridge with his legs hanging off the bridge. A 10-year-old kid wearing minor worn-off clothes brings out a half-eaten piece of bread and looks up at a person who isn’t available in the Frame, “would you like some?”

Invisible voice of an old woman, “No, my darling.”


[The camera zooms out and shows a graceful old lady standing next to the boy in white mystical clothes and smiling.]


The boy looks back at the city: “Don’t you get tired of all this noise, unnecessary and aimless journey?”


Woman: “I don’t. I don’t have that liberty.”   


Boy: “What is that they are chasing?”


Woman: “Nothing. I wish they knew.”


Boy: “All this effort and commitment for ‘Nothing’”


Woman: …… She smiles and looks at the city.


Boy: “Whatever they are running after, what if they find and get it? Then what?”


Woman: “Then the journey continues till it ends.”


Boy: “All this effort and commitment for ‘Nothing’” mumbles to himself.


Woman: “Why are you here, Alex?”


Boy: “Just wanted to come here one last time to find the ‘Why?’”


Woman: “Isn’t it too late for that?”


Boy: “At least I’ll know.”


Woman: “and?”


Boy: “Nothing.”


Boy: “There’s chaos in every soul that is represented with pointless wars and cruel bloodshed everywhere. People are cheating and hurting others for the sake of money, fame, and the material gains, which isn’t even a permanent gain.”


Woman: …. Loses the smile.


Boy: “There’s a mad amount of money and resources available to take care of every single human being’s needs on the planet. Yet, we are unable to acknowledge that fact and act upon it.”


5 seconds of silence…


Boy: “Why can’t we stop for one second and look within ourselves and realize the fact that life doesn’t have to be this difficult; life doesn’t have to be a sprint where there’s some prize at the end. Why can’t we understand that life is just a simple walk and every step is a prize if spent in peace.”


Woman: “Congratulations, my dear, You figured it out. What are you going to do about it?”

The boy stays quiet for a couple of seconds: “Nothing” …. “Nothing.” mumbles


[Frame distorts] In the new setting, an old humble man is on his death bed in a fine" with his son, son’s wife, and three children (two boys 8, 10, and a girl 5). The old man is holding the hand of the youngest one. 


[Frame distorts] and goes back to the previous scenario.


The camera focuses on the woman.


Woman: “I wish everyone stops during the run and figures it out earlier in their life and not when it is time to go.”


The camera zooms out, and the same old man from the hospital is standing next to her. Looks at the woman. “Yeah, I wish we stopped the life at 0Km/h for once to have that clarity.”


[Frame distorts] and stays at the same position with no one standing on the bridge and pushes down to the initial settings, and traffic continues to flow all the same.

© 2021 Maan


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Added on April 1, 2021
Last Updated on April 1, 2021
Tags: life

Author

Maan
Maan

Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan



About
Not really much to say about what I am or anything about me. Its like I've never find myself in the spheres of something and something not, I always wander somewhere in between them, all I get is the .. more..

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