Short Film Script: Summer Rain

1. EXT. LONDON. AFTERNOON TWENTY NINTH OF JUNE 1916. 

One camera shot of London, from the sky. There were plenty of streets. The building lined up on both side. On the streets, there were slight shadows of people, with their everyday doings. There were horse carriages, with people riding them to places. In the background, fading sound of bomb shells exploding, repeating itself constantly and apart from that, it was all quiet.

2. EXT. BEHIND THE BRITISH LINE, ON THE WESTERN FRONT. DAY TIME THIRTYIETH OF JUNE 1916. 

The giant gun was aimed steeply against the sky. The soldiers loaded a bomb into the giant gun and let it fire into the sky. The giant gun of the canon pushed itself backwards furiously, by the force of the bomb it shot, but the canon refused to move backwards and the big gun moved back into its place. An empty case fell out from the back of the canon. The soldiers loaded another one and repeated the same pattern.

3. EXT. ON THE NO MAN’S LAND OF THE WESTERN FRONT. FIRST OF JULY 1916, SEVEN TWENTY EIGHT IN THE MORNING  

The artillery shell continues to fire upon the German line, it creates very little damage to the German trenches. The barb wires were horribly tangled, almost impossible to cross. The ground of no man’s land was turned into a great mud pit, by the exploding shells and rain.

All of a sudden it all went quiet; it was so quiet you could even hear the sound of a whisper. Subtitle appeared on the bottom of the screen. “1916 Battle of the Somme”.

4. EXT. IN A BRITISH TRENCH OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR. FIRST OF JULY 1916, HALF PAST SEVEN IN THE MORNING 

It was all quiet; the sounds of the individual soldiers breathing could be heard. The camera focused on the ground of the trench floor. A river of urine mixed with muddied rain waters and garbage water ran parallel with the front line trench.

The next shot focused on a very big rat, sniffing around within the trench and then climbing into the hole it had dug into the trench wall.

After that, the shot focuses on David, standing among his fellow comrades. The sound of a whistle filled the air.

The soldiers started to climb out of their trenches and onto the front.

5. EXT. IN A GERMAN TRENCH OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR. FIRST OF JULY 1916, HALF PAST SEVEN IN THE MORNING 

A German soldier climbs out of his concrete trench and sets up his machine gun. Ahead of him, the British were struggling to charge against them. No man’s land was a giant mud pit. It was impossible to cross. Some of the British troops were being tangled in the German or British barbwire, some were being shot or killed by enemy fire, others were still charging.

The German soldier open fired with the machine gun. There was no need to aim, the British were everywhere. A whole line of British soldiers fell down, as they were being shot by his machine gun.

6. EXT.ON THE NO MAN’S LAND OF THE WESTERN FRONT. FIRST OF JULY 1916, TWENTY TO EIGHT IN THE MORNING 

David charged towards the German trench. A line of machine gun bullets shot across David’s chest. The force pushed him back several times, until he fell to the ground. It was far too painful for David to even scream. He just laid there silent and lifeless.

Lieutenant (O/S) 

(Fainted shout) 

Held on, David  

Sound of a stream of machine guns from behind.

Lieutenant (O/S)  

(Faint shout) Watch out!!!

The sounds of gunshot and Machine guns firing in the back ground. 

Soldier One (O/S)

(Faint Shout) Watch Out!!!   

The sound of even more cross fire, then all the sounds on the battle field disappeared. The camera aimed at David’s face, facing towards the sky with no expression at all.

FADE IN SLOWLY.  

7. INT. IN DAVID’S MEMORY, IN THE HOUSE OF A WEALTHY MAN, IN LONDON. 1911 AFTERNOON 

David and a middle aged man seem to be having a conversation. There was no sound, but through their expression the conversation seemed to be delightful and they were laughing and joking in the same time. The middle aged man was sitting on the couch on the left side of the room, while David sat on the chair on the right hand side of the room. It was supposed to be a big bright yellow room, but the image was rather dark, almost black and white. At the end of the room, there was a wooden door, leading to the next room. The image of the floor was blurry.

The next camera shot was blurry, but brightens up a little bit as it aims at Amali coming into the room. She was wearing a white dress, beautifully decorated by a red and purple pattern. She was a beautiful girl, age somewhere between her late teens and early twenties.

The camera was shot from David’s eye view. David stood up and Amali was facing him. Beside him, David saw the faded shadow of the middle aged man. 

Amali’s mother (S/O) 

This is my daughter, Amali. 

  Amali smiled shyly.

8. EXT. DAVID’S MOMORY LONDON STREET. LATE AT NIGHT 1911

It was late at night. The street was quiet, Amali and David walked out of one of the few restaurants that were still open. The camera was aimed at the door way outside the restaurant. David and Amali walked out of it, still laughing. They were still very well dressed. David was in his formal gentleman’s clothes while, Amali was wearing a purple dress. Amali’s hair was still tied up in a ball behind her, but it was a little disorganized. 

Inside the restaurant, the light was being turned off. A shop keeper was closing the restaurant down for the day. 

FADE IN FROM THE RIGHT 

9. EXT. DAVID’S MEMORY LONDON STREET. LATE AT NIGHT 1911 

David and Amali were standing on the street. The image was a little bit blurry. The back ground was missing and replaced by greyness. They were hugging each other passionately. 

David

I love you, Amali.  

Amali

I love you too, David

At the same time, the back ground of the neighbourhood all of a sudden became clear in David’s memory. The greyness was replaced by a line of townhouses that look identical to one and another. They were all two storey buildings.

A bucket of water fell down from the sky, soaking David and Amali from head to toe. 

David and Amali looked at each other, instead of being angry, they were laughing. Then it started to rain and they laughed even more. 

The next camera shot was shot from a distance. Amali and David walked away together in the rain. It was too far to tell what they were doing from where the camera was shooting. 

FADE IN 

10. INT. DAVID’S MOMORY DAVID’S WEALTHY UPPER CLASS HOME. 1912 AFTERNOON   

David sat in his wealthy house, the Camera made a close up shot of him. The background of the memory was blurry, there was nothing but grey. He looked very tired and his eyes were red from not sleeping for days. His beard had grown slightly from not shaving. He sat in the same position, with the expression of a broken man on his face. He leaned one of his hands on his beautiful expensive looking table. On the table was a bottle of half-drunk whisky and there was a glass on the table, with a cup of half-filled whisky. David sat in the exact same position without moving. 

(V/O) 

(Faded ghost like voice) 

Your ship of cargo from China has sunk. 

Judge (O/S)

(Faded ghost like voice)

David Anderson, you are now officially declared broke. 

(V/O) 

(Faded ghost like voice) 

You owe them far too many pounds…Your cargo from China has sunk.    

Judge (O/S) 

(Faded ghost like voice) 

David Anderson, you are now officially declared broke.

(V/O) 

(Faded ghost like voice) 

You owe them far too many pounds. Your ship of cargo from China has sunk.  

Judge (O/S) 

(Faded ghost like voice) 

David Anderson, you are now officially declared broke. 

(V/O) 

(Faded ghost like voice) 

You owe them far too many pounds. 

Amali (O/S) 

(Arguing) 

I don’t care, I love him. 

11. INT. DAVID’S MEMORY WEALTHY UPPER CLASS HOME.

It was the same living room from scene seven. This time the wealthy middle class man stood on the left hand side of the room. Amali stood on the right hand side of the room. Amali’s mother stood in the middle.

Amali 

(Arguing) 

I don’t care, I love him.  

The middle age man’s face was red from being angry with Amali.

Middle aged man 

(Angrily) 

I don’t care if you love him! I am not going to allow my daughter to be with that bastard and that is final! 

Amali’s mother

(Sweetly) 

Amali dear, why do you want to have anything to do with him anyway? He is not rich anymore. Now, we should be looking for a man of our status, shouldn’t we?

Amali

I don’t care mother.

Middle aged man

(Serious tone) 

Now, you listen to me Amali. I introduced you to David, because back then he was one of the wealthiest bachelors in London. Now, he isn’t and I don’t want you or anybody in this family to have anything to do with that poor bastard. I am your father, Amali and I forbid you, do you understand?That is final.

Amali frowned

Amali

Good bye, father.

Amali ran out the front door of the house, which was opposite to the door that leads to the back rooms. 

Middle aged man

(Yelled)

Amali, you come back here right now, you hear me?

Amali ignored the Middle aged man and continued running.

12. INT. DAVID’S WEALTHY UPPER CLASS HOME. 1912 AFTERNOON 

It was the same room and scene as in scene ten. The grey backdrop was being replaced by a wall of book shelves with books in every single one of them. The floor was decorated by a red carpet with a classy looking pattern. All of the furniture looked very expensive. David was sitting in the same position as scene ten with a bottle of almost empty whisky on the table and an almost empty glass. Amali walked in from behind.

David

(Coldly, without turning around)

What are you doing here?

Amali stopped and stood behind David

Amali

I heard what happened to your cargo.

David

So what? You came here to mock me as well? I have had enough of that for one day.

Amali stood there silently.

David

I thought your father forbid you to see me.

David took another sip of whisky

Amali

He did, but I came anyway.

David

You should go home. Your father will be angry.

Amali

I don’t care about what he thinks.

David

Well, you should, now get lost.

David refills his empty glass with whisky and took another sip. Amali move forward to stand in front of David

Amali

(Raises her voice a little bit)

Could you stop drinking that thing? How many of those did you have?

David

(A little bit angry)

What of your business is it? Get lost?

Amali took a step back, a bit frightened. David calmed down. 

David

(Calmly)

I lost everything. You should go now.

Amali

I don’t care.   

David

You should.

13. EXT.ON THE NO MAN’S LAND OF THE WESTERN FRONT 

David laid on the Western Front, his eyes were powerless. Blood was leaking out of from his wounds and soaking his dirty uniform. David lay facing the sky. His helmet had fallen off. There were no sounds in the background. Slowly and painfully he reached for his pocket to grab something out. 

David was breathing hard. The camera aimed at his hand taking a photo out of his pocket. Slowly and painfully, David pulled the photo towards him, to look at it. The camera shot focused onto the black and white photo of Amali. The photo was bloodied. 

14. EXT. ON THE STREET. 1913 MORNING 

David ran down the street. He reached a big white house that was two storeys tall. 

Outside the house there was a gardener and a few other servants in their uniforms. David ran towards the big house. The servants stopped to block him at the door way. David tried to push his way through them. 

David

No, I came to see Amali

Servant 1

(Shout)

Get away!

David

(Quickly explain)

No, I got the job

Servant 2

(Shout)

Get Lost!

Middle aged man came out of the house

Middle age Man

(Shouted angrily)

What are you doing here?

Runs forward to brush David off.

David

No, I got the job, I got the job.

Middle age Man

(Shouted angrily)

Get off my property, you bastard!

David gives up, turned around and ran towards his next destination.

15. EXT/INT.WORKING CLASS APARTMENT 1913 MORNING 

David ran into the working class house. Inside the room, was an old man reading a newspaper. On the table in front of him was a slice of bread with butter and a big black finger mark on it. Right behind it, was a kitchen, it had a pile of dishes upon it and it was difficult to see the table’s surface. Amali was sitting on a chair opposite the old man.

David

(Said to Amali excitedly)

I got the job, I got the job. I’ll soon be a rich man again.

Amali was just as excited as David was.

16. INT. THE DINGING ROOM OF A WEALTHY HOME, 1914 NIGHT 

David, Amali, the middle aged man, Amali’s mother and a whole lot of guests, sat around the long dining table. Standing behind them were maids, dressed in their uniforms. The room was huge. The dining room table was long and rectangular, with one chair on each of the shorter sides and six chairs on the longer sides. The furniture and decoration of the room looked very classy. The middle aged man and Amali’s mother each took one of the shorter sides. David and Amali sat next to each other at the table. On the table there was expensive food and wine. Everyone at that party was very well dressed. There was one young man that was in military uniform. Middle aged man stood up from his chair to make a toast.

Middle age man

Ok, firstly I want to thank everyone for coming here. As all of you can see, the war has finally being declared. As you can see, Philip here has already joined up. The war will be short and glorious, Philip.

Middle age man nodded and smiled to the young man in the military uniform. The young man in the military uniform smiled and nodded in reply. 

Middle age man

And one other thing, I would like to introduce you to my daughter Amali and my soon to be son in law, who is one of the most successful stockbrokers in London, David. So, to the King, to Britain and to the happy couple.

Middle aged man raised his glass, everybody else followed

Guests

To the King, to Britain and to the happy Couple.  

17. INT/EXT. MIDDLE AGE MAN’S FACTORY 1915

Amali is working in the middle aged man’s factory. Nearly half of the people working in the factory are women. They are doing the heavy factory work.

David walks to the entrance of the factory. Amali saw David coming. She quickly wiped the black petrol oil away from her hands and tidied up her hair a little. Then she ran out to greet him. David had a more serious expression on his face. 

David

I just got drafted to go to war.

Amali

What?

David

I got drafted. They sent me the letter yesterday.

Amali stood there for a second, for a minute she looked as if she was about to cry.

David

Hey, everything is going to be fine, alright?

Amali

(Almost crying)

Have you heard of the casualty rate up on the front? What if you…

David

Hey, I’ll came back, OK? And when I do, you will be the most beautiful bride in the world. OK?

Amali smiled a little bit.

Amali

Ok

The Camera shot is aimed at Amali’s face. David’s hand touched Amali’s face to wipe away a teardrop on the side of her cheek. Amali smiled.

18. EXT.ON THE NO MAN’S LAND OF THE WESTERN FRONT FIRST OF JULY 1916, TWENTY FIVE TO EIGHT AND TWENTY SECOND IN THE MORNING 

David was still lying there on the front. The camera aimed at the photo of Amali which David was looking at. The camera aimed at David’s hand holding it and then the photo dropping to the ground lifelessly.

The next camera shot aimed from David’s eye point of view. At first, it was within his dead body on the western front. Then it started to float towards the sky, horizontally. 

The camera which was from David’s eye view turned around to look at the ground. On the ground was David’s dead body, lying there dirty and lifeless on the western front. In the background there were still the sounds of people fighting. 

19. EXT. AMALI’S BEDROOM 1918 MORNING 

Amali was writing a card in her bedroom. She sat by a small wooden table next to her bed. She smiled when she wrote the card. Amali’s sister entered the room. She was slightly younger than Amali, but had the same gorgeous charm her sister had.  

Amali’s sister

What are you doing?

Amali

(Happily)

Sending a card to David.

Amali finished writing the card. She smiled as she looked at her finished product.

Amali’s sister 

You know, it has being nearly two years since You’ve heard from him. 

Amali

(Softly) 

He’ll be back.

Amali’s sister 

I don’t think he will be.

Amali

(Softly)

He’ll be back

Amali walked away from the table, trying to fighting back a tear. Amali’s sister walked out of the room. Amali tried to fight back the tears for a few more seconds, until it finally burst out like flames and she lay there, crying beside her bed. 

The camera shot slowly moved away from Amali and onto the small table where Amali was writing her card and then zoomed into a close up to the card. In the card was a picture of a young woman holding flowers in her hand. The other half was empty. Upon the empty half was written a line of words. 

“You are the only boy I will ever love. “Love Amali”