HONNE
●HONNE(本音) ● what one actually believes and what one pretends to believe, respectively
PRELUDE
INT: Bedroom
Scene opens with BIRDS EYE VIEW, the ceiling fan’s blades can be seen waving in front of the camera slowly churning the smoke in the room.
A FAN BLADE passes the CAM that serves as a transition tool
We see Incense burning all around the bed that a man (ISAAC [mid 20s/early30s]) is lying in bed. His EYES are barely open, CHEST barely rising between the shallow breaths, a SPOTTED BLANKET draped to cover his privates.
He's surrounded by his family, dressed in white, and they are covering his skin in dots.
A PRIEST wearing a LARGE WOODEN NECKLACE and a BLACK STRAW HAT stands at the foot of the bed.
We come into the scene with THE PRIEST mid prayer.
The CAM cuts between different angles showing the family members HANDS at work dotting his skin as the priest prays.
We see shots of the tools and personal items around the room: a ritual bowl with white paint, a larger bowl with a pour has the pigments and a half used gallon of water next to it, an ornate wooden pipe, a plant
ISAAC'S young daughter (MAHALIA AGE 4) plays with a doll in the corner, too young to register the gravity of the situation.
Priest:
We commit you to the earth. This vessel has completed its journey, yet your fight is not over. We prepare you for death’s battle. We prepare you to face the Scyth. The father commits your mind to your tactics, the mother commits your heart to action, the brother binds your arms to battle and the sister keeps your feet swift. You are dust and to dust you return.
As he finishes this last line the CAM is above ISAACS’s face as they finish dotting it.
He lets his last dying breath out as the priest speaks “you are dust.”
CUT TO:
Ext: Red Bluff MIDDAY/EVENING
We follow that last breath into the sky and transition to a gash in the earth, on a cliff surrounded by the red clay lies ISAAC.
The CAM rest sitting low about 15 ft away. You can see other dotted men and women sitting off in the distance, watching him. Isaac sits up wearily, taking in his surroundings with caution, knowing what's to come.
The CAM cuts to an over the shoulder view of ISAAC, showing a man walking forward, dressed in black with a BLACK STRIPE across his FACE.
His HANDS are covered black as well. ISAACS begins to breath harder, building himself up for the task ahead.
All there is to hear is his ragged breathes.
In the moments of each exhale we show a different grouping of the onlookers
Death: Isaac, are you ready?
Isaac: I've trained on your shadow for years as it swallowed my enemies.
Death: And Ive reveled in the many ways you've sent them to me… You know what is at risk here.
The CAM cuts to show some of the onlookers, all dotted like him, with white contacts. Isaac is now holding two Fire Spinning Ropes.
A CLOSE UP on his grip tightening onto the ROPES.
A PROFILE SHOT framing the two of them in a tense stand-off.
Isaac: The Garden welcomes me.
The CAM goes to a DRONE BIRDSEYE view over the pair as they begin to spin in a fiery dance, pulling higher and higher.
Isaac: I give praise to mother earth. I give praise to all of nature and its beings. I give praise to all my guiding spirits. I give praise to my ancestors. I give praise to all that came before me in this struggle. I give praise to my elders, I thank you for allowing me to wake up this morning. I thank you for my breath. I thank you for my body. I thank you for my journey.
As he speaks we travel through the clouds through the night to a morning sun peaking through the eastern horizon.
CUT TO
CAR SCENE, OPENING
Setting: Baton Rouge early morning
CAM:
We open to a Baton Rouge morning view of the city from the viewpoint of the passenger seat of a car. The side mirror is in view, as if someone is looking out of the window at the same rising sun over the city. Shots of CITIZENS waking through different parts Palus, parents taking out trash, kids heading to school, businesses opening for the day. During opening sequence she is heard on the phone with her friend, the familiarity reflects the safe space created between them. Its all warmth and love, Mahalia's entire person transforming the moment she answers. A worn polaroid of Isaac and his wife, seen in first scene is on her dashboard, we return to this sight repeatedly during the conversation as well.
Mahalia:
hey girlie
No, im on the bridge almost there
I mean it should be a cool job.
The manager was nice and the bartender was…
No, no I never did that!
No that was Janet she-
Yea in the bathroom with-
Mmhmm
Ummm no that was Carter!
Yea but I hope this place isn't like that I can't deal with the drama again.
The young and intoxicated
A whole movie
*pause*
-close up on her mouth in profile
LAUGHS
No I go in at 10 so I'm gonna stop and get some breakfast or maybe just some tea
No I eat!
I'm-
Stop-
No I eat more than you!
You forgot to eat yesterday!
Uh huh Yea whatever
We return to the car window view as the CAM pivots showing our main character MAHALIA for the first time. She looks stressed, rushed, hair pulled up into a big messy bun. She tries to light a cigarette with a match and nearly burns herself.
Mahalia: Ah! Fuck…fuck…fuck….
You heard from Cooley?
She called earlier about this dude in the city
Yea she seem so…
No not that stop
-close up on her mouth
giggles
Stop that she seems whole
Yea Yea like
It's not like she was missing anything before but she's just-
laughs
Remember last year?
LAUGHS
-long pause-
Like how you show up late to my birthday party for my birthday on my day of birth like who does that?
LAUGHS
Anyway she-
She-
Exactly so why would-
Yep Yep so fuck her I mean she hurt my feelings or whatever but that's cool
No No I'm about to park
Yea
Bye
Get off my phone!
Turns on music
CUT TO THE SOUND OF THE BUTTON BEING PRESSED
EXT: Magpie
MAHALIA drives up haphazardly, parking crooked in the parallel spot. We jump cut to her back in the car scarfing down a muffin and singing along.
Cut to:
We see the outer driver side of MAHALIA'S CAR catching her REFLECTION in the SIDE MIRROR as it pulls up to a restaurant
MAHALIA exits the car heading into work, the door swinging open and closed and the cam staying static in its mount.
Timelapse CAM in same position until dark when she walks back out.
Title Screen: honne
As she walks back to her car a man donning a tribal mask sits on the bench outside smoking a long wooden pipe.
He's wearing a cream linen suit, the rustic wooden mask held fast by a scarf wrapping his head.
The same scarf wraps his hands, only his aged brown fingers visible.
MAHALIA doesn't notice THE MASKED MAN as she heads back to her car.
When she opens the door, we lose sight of THE MASKED MAN and once the door closes he's gone.
MAHAHLIA walks through the grocerstore's craft section, its along the back wall of the supermarket to her left, allowing us to see down to aisles to her right.
THE MASKED MAN appears in the second aisle we see.
When she looks over he's gone.
Her phone rings The CAM shifts focus from her to her phone it's her friend, BREA, again
Cut to her on the phone standing in front of the superstore, looking both ways before crossing
What follows is a series of cuts showing MAHALIA in front of a couple religious structures with the conversation dubbed over.
During the conversation we follow her as she interacts passively with these different religions, not taking extreme insterest into much of anything.
We end this sequence in an AFRICAN SHOP where she takes more interest, grabbing some items, buying and leaving.
The MASKED MAN is snuck into every shot
Brea: "you figured out what's going on with you?"
MAHALIA:"you ever feel lost?"
Brea: "what you mean lost? Lost how? Lost like grocery store lost or lost like interstellar lost"
MAHALIA: interstellar meets Logan lost his diary lost"
Brea: "aint no way your logan lost his diart lost, what's the issue?"
MAHALIA: "that's what I don't know if I knew that I wouldn't be lost now would I?"
Brea: "you can know why you lost and still be lost"
MAHALIA: "UGH that's not the point! I feel just... Alive"
Brea: "breathe in real quick, deep breathe"
-WE CUT TO A CLOSE UP OF MAHALIA’S MOUTH AS SHE INHALES AND EXHALES
MAHALIA:*inhales*
Brea: "now let it go"
MAHALIA:*exhales*
Brea: "it's because you're alive! How are you supposed to feel!"
*both laugh*
MAHALIA: "shut up. I just feel like I'm not living like I'm supposed to be living. Like my life is missing something"
Brea: "well for one... You broke."
MAHALIA:"financially challenged!"
Brea: "fiscally devalued"
MAHALIA:"monetarily misunderstood but it don't feel like money is the issue. You know when money is the issue. This feels like a piece of me is gone. Like my days just swallow up my older days and now it's gonna become years eating years and I won't be able to remember what happened because nothing significant will happen. This city can swallow lives you know?"
Brea: "Palus doesn't swallow anything people don't feed it. I look at it this way, you can look at the world like it has infinite potential, a steady well waiting for you to drill and drink. Or you can look at it as an old pump, overused and dried out, with only enough water for the lucky ones. This life has everything you need, you just gotta figure out yourself to know how to get it."
MAHALIA "so perspective is my problem?"
Brea: "perspective is your solution! Go and get some perspective"
MAHALIA "What I'm supposed to do? Climb a tree?"
Brea: "I know you're not religious buuuttttt"
MAHALIA "No no nope. I tried religion. I even tried my people's traditions and that felt weird still."
Brea: "nobody said stick to one! Try a few out! See some new views on life. You gotta and stop being so damn childish.
MAHALIA: "whatever"
INT: MAHALIA’S BEDROOM
Mahalia's room is cozy, layers of draped fabrics of yellows, oranges, browns, and reds cover almost every surface. The hardwood is broken by a fluffy shag rug.
Cam is fixed with her in center walking into her bedroom.
The door closes with the timing of the end of the call.
She starts to pour out a bunch of candles and crystals, a deck of cards and some herbs.
She begins to set up an alter in front of a table with some plants around it.
She unpacks the deck of tarot cards, shuffling the cards cautiously.
Cut to the alter being prepared and incense lit.
she slowly kneels in front of the alter. The only light is coming from the firelight, illuminating her face.
MAHALIA
murmurs "bless the deck" Think of what you want
What do you want....
You want...
You want....
I want to know freedom. I need to find myself.
The cards burst into flames She freaks out and blows out all the candles, bringing the screen to black.
EXT: MAHALIA’S HOME
(cam from POV of phone) MAHALIA is typing intently focused on her phone as she walks out of her home. We see BREA for the first time via a FACETIME screen in the left corner
The content isn't shown but the tapping of her fingers are amplified, BREA'S voice muffled by the fingers incessant tapping.
As she gets a couple steps away from the door
MAHALIA: "shit, lock the door"
BREA: You was talking about how you're feeling lost, you're gonna lose all your stuff if you keep leaving your door unlocked in PALUS.
So she runs back. The CAM is still at phone POV, shaking and blurring as she jogs to door.
The sound of keys are heard and a lock can be heard clicking.
At the sound of the lock the sky above changes, going from the blues of morning to the oranges of evening.
The phone screen begins to glitch
BREA: Hello? Hey youre phone is being weird your camera is
When she brings it back up you see up into the clear sky then trees begin to enter view.
We see MAHALIA as if we are walking in front of her.
Behind her the scene morphs, her home quickly being covered by trees, in moments she's in deep forest.
She walks deeper into the woods, her gaze focused on the content on the phone, moving into wilderness unbeknownst to her. THE CAM cuts to a view 10-15ft ahead of her, she's still looking down. Her foot breaks a twig and it snaps her to her surroundings, when she looks up she notices him, the man in the mask. A wide profile shot catches both of them at opposite ends, staring. She doesn't appear afraid, and he doesn't appear threatening. JUMP CUT and he's a footstep away from her, the CAM maintains the same angle, keeping their faces at opposite edges of the screen. She looks him in his eyes, (actor is wearing white contacts and black paint around eyes) His hand rises to grab the mask, slowly taking it off revealing an older male. He's smiling full of love.
MAHALIA: tears forming “daddy?”
He brings the mask closer to her face,
Isaac: I love you baby, we gon get you right
The mask engulfs the screen in black
CUT TO:
Ext: Forest clearing, Red Bluff Time: evening
The sound of crackling wood enters her awareness with the hums of women backing it. The black of the mask peels away and reveals a human sized fire blazing wildly in front of her. Wild, massive, but controlled within the firepit.
She is sitting next to a cliff wall, with 3 other women who are all covered in robes covered in interconnected squares. Their hair pulled back, styled with red earth, escaping into locs at the nape of their necks. The CAM moves to float around the women who are all meditating and chanting. The women havent registered Mahalia as she takes them in. They have their eyes pressed closed, rocking with the pacing of the music, rocking in tune with one another in a growing feverish passion, the fire seeming to react and move along with them. We float around the 3 women rotating around the fire before settling back on our main character, who now has a woman dressed in a robe like flowing dress positioned behind her. The CAM is in a low upshot with Mahalia in the center of the frame, the Leader is towering above. The Leader grabs her by her temples, she still hadn’t noticed her flanking, entranced by the ritual she just appeared in.
The CAM is now showing a high wide shot above the leader so that you can see the whole scene. As she places her hands onto MAHALIA'S head the other 3 women hop up, now dancing in praise. The CAM holds here.
ISAAC:
“What is it that you want? Speak carefully my child, the universe is listening.”
Mahalia:
What happened to you?
ISAAC:
What happens to all of us? We die. I died love. That's all.
MAHALIA:
But after... where did you go? What happened to you?
ISAAC:
Do you know our traditions?
MAHALIA:
Who would teach them to me? Mom is-
ISAAC:
I know... Look there is more to life than the ending you see. You're just a rock skipping along a lake. When that rock slips beneath the surface, does it disappear forever? No, it just continues life underwater. Do you know where you are?
MAHALIA:
no...
ISAAC:
This is our people's land. Every cell within you has walked these trees, has molded itself from this soil. You can always find me here. Do you understand?
MAHALIA:
This is where you are... Trapped...
ISAAC:
*huge laugh* No, not trapped. This is where I was freed.
MAHALIA:
Then I want freedom
The CAM moves to a direct front shot of MAHALIA. The ritual leader grabs her head and pulls her up The scene blends the transition from the cliff side to the her bedroom.
cut to:
INT: BEDROOM
MAHALIA's face is painted, half-dotted in the style of her father now too. She stands looking bewildered and amazed. Empowered.
There is a box in the middle of the room and she walks over to it, opening it and finding a polaroid photo of her father, ISAAC, and her mother, the same from her car. She flips the photo over and it says - (you define your destiny, we are watching) - The photo catches fire, and she holds the photo up to her face and watches it burn down until she can't hold it anymore.
It falls down to finish burning next to the box. We see her reach into the box and grab something, with a huge smile stretching across her face.
EXT: HOME
CAM tone is much warmer, MAHALIA carries herself happier, fuller with a confidant walk.
MAHALIA walks out of her home, dressed in the first brighter colored clothing of the film. Before closing the door she looks back and the focus of the cam shows THE MASK hanging on the wall.
(FADE TO BLACK)
During credits she begins to experiment with the fire ropes that her father used.