FADE IN:
A violent and virtuosic descending scale is heard being played on a violin. A man, GEORGES, speaks after the playing is finished.
GEORGES (V.O.)
Good. Now play it slower.
The same scale is heard at a slower tempo. The unseen violinist stumbles a bit.
GEORGES (V.O.)
Now play the first note. Just the first note.
A sustained note is heard being played on a violin. The tone is inconsistent and high pitched harmonics periodically rise over the heavy dragging of the bow.
INT. - MUSIC SCHOOL CLASSROOM - DAY
YULIA and Georges are standing in the center of a brightly sunlit classroom. High windows illuminate dust particles in the air. On the back wall, an excerpt from Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8 is written on the whiteboard from a preceding composition lesson. Yulia is a violin student of about sixteen. She dresses intelligently like someone brought up with a lot of class but she also appears rather annoyed and bored. Georges is a composer and music teacher in his late forties. He stands tall and with good posture like a noble hero but part of him always seem to be wandering someplace else. Yulia drags her bow back and forth across the strings of her violin and Georges circles around her occasionally correcting her posture. Yulia finishes playing the note and looks up at her instructor.
GEORGES
Again.
Yulia replays the note.
GEORGES
Again.
Yulia plays the note again. It is interrupted by the buzzing of a cellphone in Yulia’s pocket.
YULIA
Just a Sec.
Yulia checks her phone. There is a text message from her friend MICHEL that reads: “wats up?”. Yulia replies: “in lesson rn”. Georges becomes frustrated by his student’s behavior.
GEORGES
I will not have my best student texting during lessons. After all the time I have spent on your violin and composition lessons, and you think that is acceptable behavior?
Georges turns around and Yulia rolls her eyes. Yulia’s cell phone vibrates again. Another text from Michel reads: “you want to join our band?”. Georges takes a score down from a tall bookshelf. When Georges turns to face Yulia again, she tucks her phone back into her pocket. Georges hands Yulia the music score.
GEORGES
Bach: Partita in D minor for solo violin. I want to hear the first sixty four statements of the Chaconne next week. And I also expect to see you at my performance tomorrow.
INT. - MUSIC SCHOOL HALLWAY - DAY - CONTINUOUS
Yulia walks toward the school’s exit. She flips through the score Georges just gave her. She turns to the Chaconne. Yulia sees the thirty second note arpeggio section blur into a single black page. She takes her phone from her pocket and sends a text: “sure”.
INT. - MUSIC SCHOOL CLASSROOM - DAY
Georges is sitting at a desk across from MARC, a member of the Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors. Fading evening light shines through the high windows.
MARC
Look, I care about music just as much as you do and I hate to shut down the concert hall, but people don’t want to hear symphonies. They’re just too...
Marc pauses, unable to find the words. He waves his arms around in a mock-conducting motion.
GEORGES
Complex?
MARC
Yes! People these days want something more fresh and familiar.
GEORGES
Can you even comprehend what you are saying? Great art is not something you can just get. It has to be worked for! Artists and audiences alike!
Georges pulls a music score from the drawer under his desk.
GEORGES
Now leave, and let me focus on my next piece.
MARC
There’s not going to be an next piece, Georges. We’re shutting down.
Marc stands up to leave. He takes his coat from the back of his chair then turns to face Georges again.
MARC
Look, Georges, I’d really like to help you. How about this? I can get you a job as a melodist for some of the major labels. With your talent, I’m sure you’ll be paid very well.
Georges doesn't pay any attention to Marc’s offer, but remains at his desk writing a fantasia for violin.
INT. - MUSIC SCHOOL CLASSROOM - NIGHT
George lies back in his chair and rests the open music score across his face.
GEORGES (To himself)
I was never meant for this age. If only I could have lived during an earlier time, when people actually cared about music.
INT. - APARTMENT - NIGHT
Later that night, Georges places his still unfinished music score on a desk then takes a copy of Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin from his CD Cabinet. He listens to it while sitting in an armchair by the window in his apartment. Georges begins to drift off.
DREAM SEQUENCE:
INT. - MUSIC SCHOOL HALLWAY - DAY
Yulia is seen holding a violin case. She stands in front of a door in a hallway. Bright light emanating from an unknown source obscures the locations of the floor, walls, and ceiling. The hallway is extremely long and seems almost recursive. She looks up at a sign on the door that we can’t see. Yulia knocks on the door. END OF DREAM SEQ.
INT. - APARTMENT - DAY
A different knock is heard. We find a tired Georges walking toward the front door. He stops to rub his eyes then opens the door. Yulia stands in the entrance. She holds her violin case in her left hand and slowly lowers her fisted right hand. Yulia appears a little worried and keeps her eyes lowered.
GEORGES
Yulia?
Yulia raises her violin case holding it out to Georges. Georges takes the instrument case.
GEORGES
Did you break a string?
Yulia shakes her head.
YULIA
I... I don’t want to play violin anymore.
Yulia turns around before Georges can say anything to her. She walks down the stairs back to the street. She walks slowly at first but speeds up as she gets farther from the apartment’s entrance. Georges remains in the doorway holding Yulia’s violin case.
EXT. - CITY STREET - DAY
Yulia carries a grocery bag in both arms. Michel runs up behind her.
MICHEL
Hey, Yulia! D’you want to come over tonight? We’re gonna have a band practice.
YULIA
But we were already going to the Symphony.
MICHEL
Seriously? You still want to go? I thought you were tired of all that classical music.
YULIA
I promised Georges I’d go. He’s been working on this piece for over three years.
MICHEL
You’re not having second thoughts about joining the band are you?
YULIA
No. I just...
MICHEL
C’mon It’s gonna be a blast! You’re gonna actually play fun music for once!
YULIA
I guess so.
MICHEL
I know so. We’re the REAL composers. All Mozart’s doing now is decomposing!
Michel laughs at his joke. Yulia glares at him with a combination of anger and annoyance.
EXT. - ENTRANCE OF CONCERT HALL - NIGHT
The sign at the entrance reads: FINAL PERFORMANCE - GEORGES MÜLLER CONDUCTS HIS FOURTH SYMPHONY. A small group of people enter the concert hall. They shake the rain from their umbrellas.
INT. - BACKSTAGE - NIGHT
Georges fidgets with his conductor's baton. He pats the pockets of his coat as if looking for something. IVAN, the orchestra’s first violinist, notices this as he is about to walk onto stage.
IVAN
Is everything alright Georges?
GEORGES
Yeah. Yes, everything's fine. It just looks like I forgot to lock my apartment door... Ivan, what does the soldier do while he stands before the firing squad?
IVAN
I don’t know about the soldier, but me, I would sing.
INT. - CONCERT HALL - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS
A small audience is sitting scattered throughout the largely empty gallery. They clap as Georges walks on to the stage. Georges shakes Ivan’s hand then steps on to the conductor’s podium. He signals for the orchestra to tune and begins conducting his Symphony No. 4. About halfway through the first movement, Georges glances over his shoulder at the audience members. He sees them with confused expressions on their faces. Yulia is looking down; light from a phone glows on her face. Michel is sleeping with his legs crossed on the seat in front of him. He sees others whispering to each other. Georges turns back to face the orchestra and continues conducting, but his motions are now filled with rage.
EXT. - CITY STREET - NIGHT
Georges exits the concert hall through a back entrance. He turns the corner and makes his way to the main street, where the after-concert crowd is filing out of the hall. Georges avoids streetlights as he walks past the coffee shop across from the concert hall. He keeps his head tucked low to avoid the biting cold and the rain. Yulia and Michel walk along in front of Georges. Georges overhears part of their conversation.
MICHEL
That stuff goes right over my head. I was practically unconscious by the end of that first song. That thing the dude hit with the hammer was kinda cool though.
YULIA
Georges’ music is incredible and beautiful, but it’s so difficult. Both to play and to relate to. It’s way easier with pop.
MICHEL
Well yeah. It’s actually got words and you don’t read anything
YULIA
Yeah, so I really just want to play something easy that I can enjoy without having to study for years.
Yulia and Michel turn the corner and disappear from sight. Their conversation and footsteps also gradually fade. Georges stands defeated for a moment. He tilts his head back then squints his eyes as the freezing rain stings his face. The faint humming of an odd instrument is heard blending with the precipitation.
GEORGES (To himself)
What was that?
Georges begins wandering around the streets, turning his head back and forth, trying to capture the sound. He walks up to a late-night crowd gathered at a street corner.
GEORGES
Did you hear that sound?
The crowd shuffles away from Georges. They are heard mumbling about him being drunk. The sound comes back and Georges stands on his toes trying to locate it. He hears the old Viennese song, Oh du Lieber Augustin being played on a hurdy-gurdy, a stringed instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. Georges starts walking in the direction of the music. His walk turns into a swift jaunt which soon becomes a full run. The rain turns to snow, which begins accumulating quickly. The reflection of electric light in the snow illuminates the street to almost as bright as daylight. Oh du Lieber Augustin keeps playing in a steady and unrelenting crescendo.
EXT. - COBBLESTONE STREET - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS
The road becomes steeper and more uneven and Georges starts to become numb from the cold. He slips on an icy part of the street and collapses.
DREAM SEQUENCE:
INT. - MUSIC SCHOOL HALLWAY - DAY
The dream starts the same as before. Yulia looks up at a sign on the door. The sign reads: DUE TO LACK OF FUNDING, FLORST FINE ARTS ACADEMY IS PERMANENTLY CLOSED. Yulia leaves down the hall. She stops for a moment before leaving her violin case leaning up against the wall. Yulia continues to walk down the hall. END OF DREAM SEQ.
EXT. - BEHIND CITY - DAY
A lone Tilia tree grows through the stones of a snow covered plaza. Under the the tree sits DER LEIERMANN, a tall and skinny old man who wears dirty clothes that fit his body awkwardly. He endlessly cranks his hurdy-gurdy, never ceasing to play the old Viennese song. Georges walks slowly toward Die Leiermann. He recites part of a Wilhelm Müller poem.
GEORGES (In German - Subtitled)
Behind the village stands a hurdy-gurdy man, cranking his instrument with frozen fingers. His begging bowl is always empty; no one listens to his music, and the dogs growl at him. But his playing never stops. Strange old man shall I come with you? Will you play your hurdy-gurdy to accompany my songs?
EXT. - BASEMENT - NIGHT
Yulia, Michel, JEAN, and PATRICE, are having a jam session. Jean and Patrice are playing bass and drums respectively. Michel is singing and playing guitar. Yulia is also playing guitar. Yulia listens to Michel’s vapid lyrics as she strums a banal chord progression. There is a change in her demeanor. She leans her Fender Strat against the wall and grabs her coat and purse to leave. The other three keep jamming but Michel stops after a while.
MICHEL
Hey, could you guys stop for a sec?
The jam session pauses.
PATRICE
C’mon! What’s your deal?
MICHEL
You alright, Yulia?
YULIA
I’m going home now.
EXT. - IN FRONT OF HOUSE - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS
Yulia walks out into the snow covered suburban neighborhood. Michel runs out after her.
MICHEL
Yulia, wait!
Yulia turns around.
MICHEL
You can’t leave now. We’ve only just started.
YULIA
Playing classical music is hard, but at least it has substance.
Yulia continues walking away. Michel goes back inside his house. The heavy rock music in the basement resumes a little later.
INT. - BEDROOM - NIGHT
Yulia drops her coat and purse on the floor and sits down on her bed. She reaches into the darkness for something but is unable to find it. Yulia's feet hang off the bed as she lies back.
EXT. - BEHIND CITY - DAY
Georges follows Der Leiermann across a stone footbridge that leads away from the city. He carefully traces the old man’s footsteps, which quickly vanish in the falling snow.
EXT. - FIELD BY A FOREST - DAY - CONTINUOUS
Georges catches sight of a rural shed with a weather vane across the field. He becomes ecstatic.
GEORGES
It’s all so perfect; right out of a dream!
Georges runs toward and enters the shed. A moment later, piano music and a combination of singing and humming is heard coming from the building. Der Leiermann follows Georges into the shed.
INT. - RURAL SHED - DAY - CONTINUOUS
Georges sits at an upright piano, which along with a wooden table and chair, are the only pieces of furniture in the shed. Snow blows in as Der Leiermann enters.
GEORGES
I’m working on a new opera. Will you collaborate on the libretto?
Der Leiermann pulls the chair up beside Georges and sits down. He takes a notebook from his coat and begins writing.
GEORGES
It’s a tragedy of sorts. It tells the story of an artist who spends long hours in his studio creating masterworks among paintings. But
every time his work is displayed, nobody cares to see it. Everyone just continues their daily lives ignoring anything that challenges them or asks them to think.
Der Leiermann hands his notebook to Georges.
GEORGES
Ah! Many thanks my friend!
EXT. - PIOTRKOWSKA STREET - DAY
Yulia walks toward Georges’ apartment. The streets are still covered with snow but the storm is over and only light flurries drift from the sky. Yulia walks up to the front door and knocks but there is no answer.
INT. - RURAL SHED - NIGHT
Georges continues writing the opera long into the night. Der Leiermann stands up and pulls on Georges’ shoulder.
GEORGES
It’s time to go back?
Der Leiermann nods.
GEORGES
No. I don’t want to. That world is not a place for me. Mine is here. With my piano and my scores.
Der Leiermann leaves the shed. He begins singing Franz Schubert’s Gute Nacht. He has a sweet but rich tenor voice despite his somewhat emaciated appearance. The song gradually fades as Der Leiermann walks away into the snow until it is completely silent. Georges remains composing at the piano until fatigue overcomes him and he fall on the keys.
DREAM SEQUENCE:
INT. - MUSIC SCHOOL HALLWAY - DAY
A solo organ arrangement of Franz Schubert's Ave Maria plays over the scene. The dream starts the same as before. Yulia looks up at a sign on the door. The sign reads: DUE TO LACK OF FUNDING, FLORST FINE ARTS ACADEMY IS PERMANENTLY CLOSED. Yulia leaves down the hall. We find Georges walking up to the door. He turns the knob but the door is locked. Georges tries again more forcefully but is still unsuccessful. END DREAM SEQ.
EXT. - PIOTRKOWSKA STREET - DAY
Yulia opens the door to Georges’ apartment.
INT. - APARTMENT - DAY - CONTINUOUS
Yulia hesitantly enters the apartment. She takes her gloves off and fully enters the main living room.
YULIA
Georges?...
Yulia sees her violin case lying on a chair by a desk. She removes the instrument from its case, sets it on the table, and then picks up the bow. As Yulia is tightening the bow, she notices an unfinished score on the desk with the title: Fantasie on Themes from Schubert’s Winterreise for Solo Violin. Yulia lays the bow beside her violin. She takes a pen from a jar on the desk and starts completing Georges’ composition.
EXT. - FIELD BY A FOREST - Day
Georges makes his way across the field. The snowstorm starts to pick up again. Georges holds one arm over his brow to block the snow from his face. The faint playing of Der Leiermann’s hurdy-gurdy is heard in the distance.
EXT. - IN FRONT OF CONCERT HALL - DAY
Yulia breaks into the closed down concert hall. Yellow caution tape forms “X’s” over the doorways. A sign by the entrance reads: PRIVATE PROPERTY. NO TRESPASSING. She carries her violin case and slips under the caution tape.
EXT. - BEHIND CITY - DAY
Der Leiermann cranks his instrument while standing by the footbridge which the two men had crossed earlier. As Georges approaches, Der Leiermann begins walking into the city.
EXT. - IN FRONT OF CONCERT HALL - DAY - CONTINUOUS
Georges and Der Leiermann arrive at the former concert hall.
GEORGES
In here?
Der Leiermann steps aside to let Georges pass.
GEORGES
I would not have come back, but I feel that there is something you wish me to see.
Der Leiermann motions for Georges to enter.
INT. - ORCHESTRA SEATING - DAY - CONTINUOUS
Yulia stands at the front of the stage. She plays Georges’ Fantasie on Themes from Schubert’s Winterreise on her violin. Yulia sways with the music that fills the entire concert hall. Georges walks down the left aisle, followed closely behind by Der Leiermann. The piece sounds like two compositions intertwined. The first is melancholic in tone which is periodically overtaken by heavenly cries of repentance before falling back again. The piece ends with a soaring melody rising from darkness. After the final chord, Yulia stands with her arm raised in the air triumphantly. She then turns to Georges.
GEORGES
You finished my piece.
Yulia smiles.
GEORGES
Oh! I almost forgot! I must introduce you to someone.
Georges turns around to discover that Der Leiermann isn’t there.
GEORGES
Where is he?
YULIA
Who?
Georges becomes frantic and runs back up the left aisle.
EXT. - IN FRONT OF CONCERT HALL - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS
The snowstorm has picked up again. Georges runs out into the street and stumbles as he does. He searches frantically for Der Leiermann, looking up and down the street. Georges, overcome by exhaustion, props himself against a streetlamp then sits on the curb in the road.
GEORGES
Why must he leave and I stay? Has the Will o’ the Wisp lead me back to this wretched place? Art is dead!
Yulia walks up behind Georges.
YULIA
That isn’t true.
Yulia sits beside Georges and takes his hand.
GEORGES
Do you hear that?
Rising above the city, the faint singing of GUTE NACHT can be heard. Yulia nods.
YULIA
Yes.
FADE OUT:
THE END