英文片名:ThePiano

英文片名: the piano

中文片名: 钢琴课 钢琴别恋

上映: 1994

the piano lesson

screenplay for a film by

jane campion

producer

jan chapman

script editor

billy mackinnon

maori dialogue and translator

selwyn muru

(c) copyright:

jan chapman productions pty ltd

2 fairlight street leichhart 2040

nsw australia

4th draft 1991

developed with the assistance of

the australian film commission

----------------------------------------------------------------

sc 1 sc 1

ada (vo - scs 2 to 7)

the voice you hear is not my

speaking voice, but my mind's

voice.

i have not spoken since i was

six years old. no one knows

why, not even me. my father

says it is a dark talent and

the day i take it into my head

to stop breathing will be my

last.

today he married me to a man

i've not yet met. soon my

daughter and i shall join him

in his own country. my husband

said my muteness does not

bother him. he writes and hark

this: god loves dumb creatures,

so why not he!

were good he had god's patience

for silence affects everyone in

the end. the strange thing is i

don't think myself silent, that

is, because of my piano. i

shall miss it on the journey.

sc 2 ext scottish field near houseday sc 2

a woman in a dark crepe victorian dress sits leaning against a tree,

her hands cover her face, around her neck she wears a writing pad. she

crosses a field with large bare trees, in the far background stands a

3 storey stone house.

sc 3 int scottish house corridor day sc 3

a small girl roller skates down a dimly lit corridor. a parlour maid

looks down the hall where the girl has disappeared.

sc 4 int scottish house drawing roomday sc 4

three men wearing long grey aprons are fitting the packing for a

piano. on one of the men's arms is a tattoo of a whale in a wild sea.

sc 5 ext scottish house grounds day sc 5

the girl wearing her skates sits on a small black pony. an old man is

pulling it, but it won't move. (in the background, another aspect of

the grey stone house.)

sc 6 int scottish house flora's bedroom nightsc 6

the woman lifts back the sheets from the bottom of the sleeping girl's

bed. she is still wearing her skates. the woman cuts through the laces

and removes the boots. one disembodied skate rolls across the room.

sc 7 int scottish house drawing roomnight sc 7

the woman stands at a window lit by moonlight. her skin appears

luminescently white. she touches the wooden window frame, the curtain,

the objects on the window sill, her mind abstracted, her hands

unconsciously performing a farewell. turning from the window she moves

to a square piano crowded by packing boxes. in the dim light she

begins to play strongly. her face strains, she is utterly involved,

unaware other own strange guttural sounds that form an eerie

accompaniment to the music.

an old maid in night-dress looks in. abruptly the woman stops playing.

the emotion leaves her face, it whitens and seems solid like a wall.

cut to black

sc 8 ext underwater beach day sc 8

under water a long boat passes overhead, its oars breaking the

surface.

sc 9 ext beach day sc 9

amidst a riotous sea a woman, ada, is carried to shore on the

shoulders of five seamen. her large victorian skirt spreads across the

men's arms and backs, on her head a black bonnet, around her neck her

pad and pen. we should be forgiven if this woman seems a sacrificial

offering as the bay they carry her to is completely uninhabited. a

black sand backs on to an endless rise of dense native bush.

the breakers are chaotic, the men strain to keep their footing,

calling to each other.

seamen

hold still you smutt! blast the

boat!

look up! look up!

lay to! lay to.

up with it you buggerers, hold

hard!

damn me won't you hold?!

etc.

two of the men are black, all are battered, tattooed and tough, some

are drunk.

behind the woman is her daughter, a girl of ten in scottish dress. she

too is carried on the shoulders of seamen.

ada is placed on the sand. she looks down at her feet sinking into the

wet sand, then up at the huge confusion of fern and bush in front of

her. the sound of sea behind is thunderous.

several of the seamen have formed a group and are pissing on the sand.

her daughter is on all fours evidently being sick. but ada's attention

is diverted to the seamen who are staggering through the waves with a

huge piano shaped box. they put it down as soon as they get to 5hore

but ada makes gestures that they must immediately bring it to higher

safer ground. the piano placed to her satisfaction she hovers near it,

one hand in constant touch of it while her daughter grips her free

hand.

sc 10 ext beach day sc 10

two seamen finish carrying the last crate to shore. trunks and boxes

including an open crate with hens are scattered carelessly along the

shore.

the seamen gather together. after a discussion in which they look

between ada and her child and their coaster out on the sea, one of the

men approaches. behind him the other men keep their eyes out to sea or

down on the sand. they don't want to be involved. the sight of the

women alone on this beach is too hopeless.

seamen

it's a little rough out there.

could be they can't get through

to you in this weather. maybe

they'll come over land.

ada nods.

seamen

have you things for shelter?

ada nods.

seamen

what things have you?

ada signs to her daughter. the little girl speaks clearly and loudly

without emotion.

flora

she says, 'thank you'.

puzzled, the man walks off, then turns and comes back.

seamen

does your mother prefer to come

on with us to nelson?

ada signs vigorously to flora.

flora

she says, no. she says she'd

rather be boiled alive by

natives than get back in your

tub.

seamen

(stunned) you be damn fortuned

i don't smack your puppy gob,

missy. damn lucky.

scene 11 deleted

sc 12 ext beach day sc 12

ada is sheltering behind the crated piano, anxiety etched on her face.

flora is asleep at her feet a half eaten biscuit in her hand ada has

found a gap through the crate so that she might lift the lid and play

a few notes. the sweetness and comfort of the piano seem only to

exaggerate their isolation and hopelessness.

2- see notes

suddenly a rush of sea water shoots straight under the raised crate of

the piano wetting her shoes. ada stands, pushing flora onto her feet.

she is aghast to see the tide has crept in completely unnoticed.

they watch three of their boxes float out to sea. one of the hens has

escaped the crate and is bobbing up and down in the waves.

scene 13 deleted

sc 14 ext beach dusk sc 14

there is just a pink streak left in the sky. ada and flora shelter

inside their make-shift tent, a hooped petticoat secured at the edges

with stones. inside the tent a candle lights up their conversation.

ada is hand signaling a story to flora who lies back watching, nervous

and afraid. ada's whole self is involved in the 'telling', her face is

alight with expression, now tender, now sad, now humorous, now soft,

while her hands and fingers are deft and precise. from outside it is

an odd shadow play.

flora

(hand signaling) mother... i'm

thinking

ada pauses.

(speaking) i'm not going to

call him papa. i'm not going

to call him anything. i'm not

even going to look at him.

sc 15 ext bush on way to beach day sc 15

through a dense bush walk a party of fourteen maori people and two

european men. the wetness, closeness and darkness of the bush is such

that the air seems green, like at the bottom of a deep sea. two of the

maoris share one pair of shoes and all of them are clothed in a

mixture of native and european costume. of the europeans one is small

and has a shy manner. he has a half completed maori tattoo across his

cheeks. the other is a similar age about 45 and wears a suit, muddy

and out of place here in the bush. he staggers, spurts forward then

slows to a stop. his hair and face are wet and his skin reflects the

green foliage. baines the younger man turns and slows.

baines

are we stopping?... do you want

to stop?

the maori voices and laughter are becoming fainter. baines watches

torn between his concern for stewart and the split in their party.

3-see notes

baines

shall we stop?

unable to get an answer baines runs after the maoris.

baines

tai hoa! me tatari tatou .., me

tutatou i konei.

(wait! we are stopping.. we're

stopping.)

subtitled

stewart takes out a comb and drags it dazed and zombie like through

his wet hair. inside the darkness of his pocket, he turns over and

over a small, worn edged photograph, a smudge of green light allows us

to see ada's tumbling face. taking it in the heel of his hand he

secretly looks at it. just as the party return and settle he stares on

ahead possessed and determined.

stewart

we must get on.

the maoris look at baines bewildered.

tame

aue tepatupsiarehe!

(the fairy people, what can you

expect?)

subtitled

sc 16 ext beach morningsc 16

it is early morning. the sea is calmer and the tide is again low. the

party or two europeans and fourteen maori men and women come out on to

the beach. about half the maori party head straight for the shoreline

where an older woman loudly organises a pipi collection. all sorts of

containers are used from flax baskets to shirts with knots in their

arms. the rest follow stewart and baines over to the boxes. stewart

automatically re-combs his hair, patting it against his forehead,

where it sticks in a raked pattern. on his head he carefully places a

formal top hat, oddly dean compared to his mud splattered suit. the

party stops short of the petticoats where a tell-tale foot reveals its

occupants.

stewart

miss mcgrath, alisdair stewart.

you'll have to wake yourself.

i've got men here to carry your

things.

ada and flora struggle up to find themselves confronted by a group of

men and women. the maoris stare curiously and comment on the women.

aut he anahera enci?

(are they angels, they look

like angels.)

subtitled

a man points at flora's feet and gestures as if holding one of the

little shoes in his hand.

te monohi hoki!

(so small!)

subtitled

flora is struck by shyness and hides under her mother's skirt. ada

cannot look straight at stewart and stewart also cannot look at her.

stewart

i see you have a good many

boxes, i'd like to know what is

in each.

as ada does not move stewart is puzzled.

stewart

can - you - hear - me?

ada nods and looks up coldly, insulted by his slow loud speaking.

stewart

well that is good, yes that is

good, good.

stewart smiling searches ada's face for some sign of comprehension but

is unnerved by her lack of response. he stops smiling, and, patting

his hair walks to the closest box. several of the maori party follow

behind stewart while one of them closely and particularly mimics him.

stewart

what's in here?

ada points to the writing already on the box saying 'crockery and

pots'.

stewart

ohh, yes so it is, written

there, crockery.

stewart

and this one?

ada writes 'bedclothes and linen' on the pad around her neck- while

she writes he takes the opportunity to scrutinise her.

stewart

you're small. i never thought

you'd be small.

he walks to another chest

stewart

what's here?

she writes 'clothes'. the maori mimic also pretends to write.

finally he comes to the piano box. he lifts a corner experimentally.

stewart

what's in here then, lead?

flora

(gravely) it's my mother's

piano.

stewart

a piano?

the maoris touch the exposed legs of the piano. stewart speaks to the

other european man baines.

stewart

tell them to carry in pairs.

those three and those two the

black and the red, then the

suitcases.

stewart holds baines back a moment.

stewart

what do you think?

stewart nods towards ada. baines thinks a moment then turns towards

ada too.

baines

she looks tired.

stewart

she's stunted, that's one

thing.

baines walks over to hone a big man and the maorj leader, he stands

tall with a great sense of his own importance. (mana)

baines

anei nga pouaka - ko era e

toro.

me era e raa.

(here are the boxes, those

three and those two.)

unsubtitled

hone

e hoal

hone takes an aggressive fighting posture towards baines, insulted

that baines should suggest he might carry anything. hone does not

carrying, he is the boss. with great dignity hone retreats, too

injured to help. other maoris come up and baines assigns them boxes.

ada gets worried, the piano is being left alone. she writes on her

pad, 'the piano?' she shows stewart.

stewart

oh no, it can't come now.

flora

it must come.

stewart looks at flora

flora

she wants it to come.

stewart

yes and so do i, but there are

too few of us here to carry it.

too - heavy

ada writes 'i need the piano.' her maori mimic copies her.

stewart

do you mean you don't want your

kitchenware or your clothes? is

that what you mean?

ada signs to flora.

flora

we can't leave the piano

stewart

let us not discuss this

further. i am very pleased....

stewart slows down as he watches ada again sign to flora, he has the

uncomfortable impression he is being interrupted.

flora

mother wants to know if they

could come back directly for

it?

stewart is shocked, his mouth hangs slightly open, paused in mid

speech. tahu mimics this mouth drop perfectly.

flora

after they have taken the other

things?

stewart is growing confused and anxious. his two mimics and their

growing audience unnerve him further.

pito

kei riri a te raho maroke.

(shouted loudly at tahu)

(watch it dry balls is getting

touchy.)

subtitled

stewart nods suspiciously towards the maori speaker not understanding

him, the speaker smiles and nods back.

stewart

i suggest you prepare for a

difficult journey. the bush

will tear clothes and the mud

is deep in places.

stewart walks away. ada stands beside the piano turned away from the

activities. flora pats her hand trying to cheer her. down on the beach

a fire is lit and pipis are prepared for cooking. some of the young

men are racing naked into the sea.

stewart

(to baines about the maoris)

what are they doing? we don't

have time for that.

sc 17 exi beach day sc 17

it is some hours later and the carrying party are beginning to make

their way up into the bush. ada still stands beside her piano. flora

wants to follow the party. baines comes back along the beach, trailed

by a young maori boy, kaha.

baines

mr. stewart asked if i might

show you to the path. (ada does

not move) ... may i carry

something?

ada turns to baines, her face angry and defiant, her eyes full of

tears. baines falls back, struck by her show of emotion. ada and flora

walk past him toward the bush.

sc 18 ext cliff above beach day sc 18

the party threads its way through the bush along the cliff. ada pauses

at the cliff top to see her piano below on the sand, tiny and

desolate. its distance and her love of it suddenly strike her. its

music is faint and becomes loud over the next scene.

sc 19 ext bush from beach day sc 19

brown feet squelch through the mud, finally followed by dainty boots

caked in dirt. the maori leaders of the party have stopped.

4 - see note

baines works his way to the front.

baines

aha tenei?

(what is it?)

subtitled

hone

e hinga te koroua ra b pitama i

konci. kare noa kia hikina te

tapu.

(old man pitama died here.

(points to the spot)

the tapu hasn't been lifted)

unsubtitled

stewart struggles up to the front to join baines, he speaks over the

top of hone.

stewart

what's he say?

baines

someone died here. it's tapu.

stewart

but we came down this way

didn't we? i'm sure we did.

the maori leaders continue discussing.

0h pitama eh.

hone

e tarna heke atu ki ram - tiro

his atu.

rapuhia mai he huarahi re!

(go and look, find another

track eh!)

unsubtitled

tipi

'cia tupato he ana taniwba ke

raro na.

(go easy there's a ghost down

there.)

subtitled

hotu

'ca, rongo koe i te haunga a

tans tutae i te tuatahi. (you

smell his shit first.)

unsubtitled

stewart continues over the top of the maori discussion.

stewart

they want more money. they are

trying to make two days out of

it?

baines

no, no they know another track

- to the side of this.

ada and flora sit watching, out of breath. the bush is dense,

claustrophobic and exotic. one of the maori women sits close to ada

apparently not looking at her- slowly she draws the scarf that is in

ada's lap into her own. defiantly she puts it on.

meanwhile another woman makes a very dignified attempt to wipe the

freckles from flora's face.

sc 20 ext stewart's day sc 20

it is another day and stewart's hut, bleakly set amidst smoking stumps

is full of squeals, chasing and antics.

the reverend in frock coat has a wedding dress stuck part way up his

arms. it is not a normal wedding dress but a backless one used again

and again as a photographic prop. stewart's aunt morag and her

companion nessie are trying to pull it off.

aunt morag

watch your feet!

nessie

watch your feet!

ada and flora find the family fun frightening and have taken refuge in

the bedroom.

aunt morag

careful! watch his hand.

nessie

watch his hand

the reverend tickles his sister as she tries to get the sleeve off his

hand. nessie squeals with excitement.

aunt morag

stop it!

nessie looks towards ada panting with excitement at the fun.

aunt morag

(shooing the reverend out)

we'll bring out the bride.

the two women now fit the wedding dress on ada.

aunt morag

lift - your - arm - up - dear.

flora sits on the bed sulkily. she leans back and crosses her leg.

flora

my real father was a famous

german composer

aunt morag

ohh the tag is broken.

flora

(continues) .... they met when

my mother was an opera

singer... in luxemburg...

the two women pause to look at flora. ada signs to flora 'that's

enough!'

flora

why?

ada looks away, the two women finish primping the dress. flora crosses

her arms.

flora

i want to be in the photograph.

sc 22 ext stewart's hut day sc 22

nessie half holds an umbrella over ada as they make their way to where

the camera is setup in front of a chair and a sparse display of three

toi-toi. all about the house is muddy, so much so that they must weave

their way through on planks and logs. a fine veil of rain is falling

across the distant bush, the whole valley is shrouded in mist. stewart

looks through the camera at the reverend and the photographer who are

posing as the couple, complete with tatty bouquet. stewart notices

ada's arrival and seeing her as a real bride, his bride, he is

struckdumb with pride, even the rough tapes at the back or the dress

cannot destroy the illusion.

stewart

beautiful.

the umbrellas are held away, the rain pours down.

sc 23 int/ext stewarts hut bedroom day sc 23

aunt morag has brought a chair into the bedroom and sits knee to knee

with flora.

aunt morag

i thought she met your father

in luxemburg.

flora

well, yes, in austria where be

conducted the royal orchestra.

aunt morag

(frowning) and where did they

get married?

aunt morag checks to see if someone is coming.

flora

(her scottish accent becomes

thick and expressive) in an

enormous forest, with real

fairies as bridesmaids each

holding a little elf's hand.

aunt morag sits back, regarding flora with obvious disapproval and

disappointment. she smooths back her hair.

flora

no, i tell a lie, it was in a

small country church, near the

mountains

aunt morag is becoming involved again. she leans forward.

aunt morag

which mountains are those dear?

flora

the alps.

aunt morag

ohhh i've never been there.

(she leans forward)

flora

mother used to sing the songs

in german and her voice would

echo across the valleys

that was before the

accident....

aunt morag

oh what happened?

morag looks over her shoulder as flora continues to talk, so

persuasive is flora's storytelling that the scene comes vividly to

life, albeit in flora's dark pupil.

flora

one day when my mother and

father were singing together in

the forest, a great storm blew

up out of nowhere. but so

passionate was their singing

that they did not notice, nor

did they stop as the rain began

to fall and when their voices

rose for the final bars of the

duet a great bolt of lightening

came out of the sky and struck

my father so that he lit up

like a torch... and at the same

moment my father was struck

dead my mother was struck dumb!

she- never-spoke-another-word.

aunt morag

ohhh ... dear. not another word

from the shock, yes it would

be.

the story is interrupted by the return of the wedding party who are

dripping wet, exactly as the couple in the story. aunt morag bustles

over to take off the wet wedding gown, her face puckered with tragedy.

aunt morag

terrible. terrible

before she can undo the ties ada pulls it from herself so aggressively

that the ties and part of the gown comes apart. none of this is a

concern to ada who is distracted with fear for her piano. she crosses

to the little window and stares anxiously at the falling rain.

sc 24 ext beach dusk sc 24

soft piano music has been playing over the previous scene. now it

builds to strength as sea water swirls high around the piano, small

and embattled on the dark rainy beach.

sc 23 int stewart's hut bedroom day sc 25

it's morning of the next day. ada and flora sit amongst tea chests in

the bedroom. ada is signing intently to flora. flora signs back,

sometimes using words. stewart watches uneasy with their secret

communication. as stewart enters the animation is suspended. ada

stands and takes a step back as if to attention.

stewart

i shall be gone for some days.

there is some maori land i want

and may buy very reasonably.

(stewart shuffles) i am hoping

you will use the time to settle

in, and, in some ways we may

start again

flora and ada look at each other.

stewart

all right?

ada looks at him blankly, then nods.

sc 26 ext stewart's day sc 26

ada and flora dressed in cloaks and bonnets skirt the dense bush

trying to find a path in. it is not easy, because the bush is so

tight. ada's leg slides in up to her calf in mud.

sc 27 ext baines' day sc 27

ada and flora arrive at baines' rough hut. it is mid-morning but

baines is not yet dressed. ada hands him a note. baines looks at it

blankly.

baines

i'm not able to read.

ada signs to flora.

flora

please take us to the beach

where we landed.

baines

i'm sorry, i can't do that.

(flora and ada stare evenly at

him)

i don't have the time.

(they continue to stare.)

goodbye

sc 28 ext baines' day sc 28

it is much later when baines emerges from his hut with a saddle over

his arm. the two women are still there. ada looks up at him

expectantly.

flora mirrors her expression.

baines

i - can't - take - you there. i

can't do it.

he puts the saddle over a rail. he continues to saddle up, sneaking

glances at them from under the horse and around its side. they watch

him closely, not pleadingly, but stubbornly1 eerily of one mind.

sc 29 ext beach day sc 29

the sky is blue with long wisps of cloud.

the party of three break onto the long expanse of beach where the

piano still stands. it has not been without visitors. there are

footprints on the sand and some of the boards have been pulled back.

ada passes baines, walking urgently towards it. soon, ada has removed

enough boards that she may lift the lid and play the keys. emnes stays

back. ada takes great delight in feeling her fingers on the keys

again. her whole composition is altered. she is animated, joyful,

excited.

down on the wet sand flora does a wild dance of her own invention

using a seaweed wig. she finishes by rolling down the beach in the

sand.

baines views them with suspicion, yet he is magnetically drawn to the

spectacle he has never seen women behave with so much abandon. his

attention fixes on ada's uninhibited emotional playing, and as he

watches, he finds himself edging irresistibly closer.

sc 30 ext beach late after noonsc 30

the shadows are long on the sand when bain'es collects the boards. ada

and flora are attempting a duet. ada notices him come towards them

with the boards, obviously intending that they should leave. her mood

darkens, she continues playing stubbornly even though flora has

stopped. abruptly she finishes. in black spirits she replaces her cape

and bonnet. baines is struck by this sudden change, he watches her

mesmerised as he replaces the boards.

sc 31 ext beach night sc 31

from a helicopter, the camera tracks along the beach, following the

crashing wave line, to find the piano.

scene 32 deleted

sc 33 ext stewart's hut & kitchen dusk sc 33

the hut puffs smoke out into the valley. the lie of the land traps

sound like a shell and the clear high notes of a voice echo out.

suspicious that ada is singing, stewart approaches the house quietly.

through the open kitchen door he sees that the keys of a piano have

been etched on the table top. while ada 'plays' the notes flora sings

them.

stewart puts his pack down. ada stands to attention, folding the

tablecloth back over the table.

5, 6 + 7 see notes

stewart

hello, then.

flora

hello.

ada nods. stewart's hand explores the markings on the table. ada

watches his hand moving under the checked cloth.

sc 34 int mission house day sc 34

aunt morag, nessie and two maori girls dressed in proper victorian

costume are kneeling around a huge double white sheet, sewing and

cutting it. the maori girls are part of the mission's good works. they

are dressed in european style and while their training is in polite

proper domestic behaviour they constantly corrupt it with their

demonstrative displays of affection, and their clay tobacco pipes to

which they are addicted.

stewart is standing, looking on. baines is behind him in the kitchen

removing his boots.

aunt morag

(looking carefully at stewart)

well you stopped combing your

hair, which is a good thing, it

was looking over done.

(without pause but referring to

the sheet) you see these are

the slits that the heads will

go through, show him nessie ...

they'll be dead, the reverend

is going to use animal blood,

no doubt it will be very

dramatic. tea!

(for nessie rather than to her)

nessie

it will be very dramatic.

nessie leaves to get the tea. heni, the maori girl with a moku tickles

mari's back while she sews.

they sing the anthem in snatches. it is background to the

conversation.

stewart

(sitting down)

what would you think if someone

played a kitchen table like it

were a piano?

aunt morag

like it were a piano?

stewart

it's strange isn't it? i mean

it's not a piano, it doesn't

make any sound.

nessib puts stewart's tea down. baines comes in with his tea cup

dwarfed in his big hands. he stands back leaning against a wall.

aunt morag

(hissing to nessie) biscuits.'

no, no sound.

nessie hustles back to the kitchen.

stewart

i knew she was mute, but now

i'm thinking it's more than

that. i'm wondering if she's

not brain affected.

aunt morag

no sound at all?

stewart

no, it was a table.

aunt morag

(musing) well, she was very

violent with the gown. she tore

off a chunk of lace. if hadn't

been there i'd have sworn she'd

used her teeth

nessie

and wiped her feet an it.

stewart

well it has not yet come to

anything. just a concern.

aunt morag pats her chest. a calming device.

aunt morag

oh, yes, yes of course, a

concern.

stewart

there is something to be said

for silence

aunt morag

oh indeed. cotton'.

she holds her needle up for nessie to thread.

stewart

(warming) and with time she

will, i'm sure, become

affectionate.

aunt morag

certainly, there is nothing so

easy to like as a pet and they

are quite silent.

baines watches quietly on.

sc 35 ext stewart's woodchop day sc 35

stewart is at the woodshop cutting firewood. he displays his

virtuosity as an axeman, cutting the wood into ever more slender

pieces, flora is watching and stacking the fallen timber. she flinches

as the axe hits the wood, but scurries in to pick up the timber.

baines is standing talking to stewart.

baines

those 80 acres, that cross the

stream, what do you think of

them?

stewart

on your property?

baines

yes

baines carries a log across for stewart who talks without pausing in

his work,

stewart

good, flatish land with

reliable water, why? i don't

have money. what are you about?

baines

i'd like to make a swap.

stewart

what for?

baines

the piano.

stewart

the piano on the beach? ada's

piano?

baines nods. stewart stops, this is serious.

stewart

it's not marshy is it?

stewart has walked a few paces away from his wood chop in the

direction of the land.

baines

no.

stewart

you'd have to organise it up

here.

baines

yes, i thought that.

stewart

well baines the music lover, i

never would have known. hidden

talents george.

baines

i'll have to get lessons. it

wouldn't be much use without

them.

stewart

yes, i suppose you would.

baines remains silent. he looks away.

stewart

well ada can play.

baines shrugs.

stewart

i have it in a letter she plays

well. she's been playing since

she was 5 or6.

flora has stopped stacking. she is lying along the top of the wood,

lifting a leg up and down, watching the men.

sc 36 int stewart's kjtchen day sc 36

stewart, flushed with his plans, is pouring tea into cups. flora peers

at cup level through the steam. ada sits beside her at the table.

stewart

i have got us some excellent

land. baines has taken some

queer idea to have a piano, and

you are to give him lessons.

have you taught before?

ada signs to flora.

flora

what on?

stewart

on your piano, that is the

swap.

ala finger signs, her face furious.

stewart

what does she say?

flora

she says it's her piano, and

she won't have him touch it.

he's an oaf, he can't read,

he's ignorant.

stewart

he wants to improve himself...

and you will be able to play on

it ... (ada is not responding

well) teach him to look after

it.

ada's breathing becomes heavy with anger, she writes curiously on her

pad.

no! no! the piano is mine! it's

mine!

stewart regards her note and her passion with suspicion and disdain

stewart

(getting up) you can't go on

like this, we are a family now,

all of us make sacrifices and

so will you.

you will teach him. i shall see

to that!

ada's emotions are suddenly removed and she views stewart blankly,

eerily so.

sc 37 ext bush from beach day sc 37

the piano is taken up through the bush by a group of six to eight

maori men. it's very heavy and awkward and they grunt and struggle

with it.

him na ake 'nun na'.

(lift up the back)

unsubtitled

tern - tern!

(ass hole!)

hei niti niti maan!

(turning around)

you lick it.)

someone stumbles and the back of the piano comes crashing to the

ground thundering out in the bottom end of the scale. people scatter.

only one stays who warrior like challenges the piano.

sc 38 ext path to baines day sc38

the women duck low to avoid a branch as stewart leads them to baine's

hut. stewart carries the piano stool. the path slopes up through a

strange, bearded forest where the tops of trees are bare and ghost

like.

stewart

i'd try children's tunes,

nothing more complicated

ada is unrepentant, she does not want to teach baines the piano.

stewart

just be encouraging no one expects him to be good.

sc 39 int/ext baines' hut day sc 39

the piano is the only cared for item in the rough hut

stewart

(lifting the lid) it looks

good, very nice looking thing.

well . i wish you luck. the girls

are very excited about the

lessons.

the 'girls' look anything but excited. flora shy, plays obsessively

with a long strand of greasy hair. ada is cold and grim.

stewart

flora will explain anything ada says.

they talk through their fingers,

you can't believe what they say

with just their hands.

stewart leaves. bajnes goes to the piano and lifts the lid. he looks

at them. ada signs to flora.

flora

my mother wants to see your

hands. hold them out.

baines holds out his hands, spread wide as if holding a ball.

no, no, like this

flora puts her neat little fingers together, first with their backs up

then she turns them over. haines does the same only his bands are big

and coarse. ada signs to flora. baines is shyly keen.

flora

you have to wash them.

baines

they are washed.

ada signs.

flora

wash them again.

baines

the marks do not come out.

they are scars and hardened

skin.

ada and flora do not move. humiliated baines takes a scrub brush, soap

and bucket and goes outside. ada can see him from the window. she

moves to her piano. she wants to touch it but she is torn by her

feelings, wanting it, but not owning it. she strokes the varnished

wood with her hand and softly lifts the lid. outside flora stands

beside baines pointing out hits of his hand he should still scrub.

furtively she lays her hands on the keys. the instrument is horribly

out of tune, almost every note is off. she goes outside and signs to

flora.

flora

there's no tune left in the

piano so she can't teach you.

the two women leave.

sc40 ext steep bush hill day sc40

two men come crashing out down a steep bush hill, they are tied to

each other. baines, the younger and stronger, is trying to break their

fall by grasping hold of branches and shoots. finally their fall is

checked. the old man is white haired, the front of his suit splattered

with the debris of many meals. he sits up feeling about for his

glasses. he is blind. his eyes, though closed, wobble and roll baines

finds the glasses one of the lenses has gone, the other is very dark.

the old man fits his handkerchief in the gap.

sc 41 ext hugescree day sc 41

baines carries the old man on his back, they cross a huge scree. each

of baines' steps dislodge a fall of rocks. the crashing of stones

echoes across the valley. baines and he are but small dots in this

giant earth scar

scene 42 deleted

sc 43 int baines' hut day sc 43

inside baines' hut the old man feels the piano.

blind man

ah, a broadbent. a fine

instrument. i've not come

across one here, or in the

islands where i have tuned some

200. yes, they like their

pianos there.

out of his pocket he takes a carefully wrapped tuning fork. he unwraps

the package, lifts the back and lid and starts to tune. he sniffs the

air. baines watches, he sniffs close to the keys.

scent? and salt of course.

he works on.

what will you play when it's

tuned? what music do you play?

bains looks over at him from the meal he is preparing.

baines

i can't play.

the blind man stops working.

blind man

you don't play?

baines

no, i can't.

i'm going to learn.

the man goes back to work somewhat depressed by the futility of the

venture.

blind man

well my dear miss broadbent,

tuned, but silent.

scene 44 deleted

scene 45 deleted

sc 46 ext baines' hut morningsc 46

a slash of sunlight falls across the piano. thousands of particles of

dust become visible floating in the air. baines is at the window in

his shirt/night shirt. he notices the dust on the piano and strips off

his shirt which he uses as a duster. under the shirt he is naked. as

he wipes the smooth wood he becomes aware of his nakedness. his

movements become slower until he is no longer cleaning, but caressing

the piano.

sc 47 ext path to baines' day sc 47

on the path to baines' house, ada and flora sit in the bush. ada's

head is bowed. her hands held over her face. flora tries to catch the

spots of light in her palm as they twinkle through the thick canopy of

leaves over head.

sc 48 ext/int baines' hut day sc 48

the door opens. ada and flora stand in their cloaks and bonnets.

flora

mother says she can't stand to

teach piano with it all out or

tune. so i'm to do scales.

ada turns and walks off. flora bustles in. baines watches ada from the

window,

flora

i hope you've scrubbed your

hands.

flora begins a scale.

oh, it's in tune.

she looks over at baines who is still gazing out the window.

flora

what's out there?

she gets up to see what baines is looking at. she sees her mother and

divines baines is looking at nothing.

flora

you have to watch me where i

put my fingers.

flora starts again. ada can only hear the piano faintly but moves

closer as she too hears it's in tune.

as she enters the hut baines pulls his fingers away from the piano.

flora sees this and stops too. she looks at her mother.

flora

it's in tune.

ada checks the other notes. flora stands with her arms folded, a bit

sulky and fluffed up.

flora

(hissing) i was teaching.

ada tries the piano. she looks over at baines then signs to flora.

flora

she wants to see what you can

do.

baines

i'd rather not play. i want to

listen and learn that way.

flora

everyone has to practice.

baines

i just want to listen.

ada is a bit nonplussed. she does not want to be listened to anymore

than she wants to teach. she pulls a strand of her hair then signs to

flora.

flora

what do you want to hear?

baiwes shrugs shyly and locks away out the window. he doesn't know

baines

anything.

ada is slow to start. unobliging as ever she plays scales. but once

begun her belligerence fades as her absorption in the music

strengthens.

sc 49 int stewart's hut/ada's bedroom night sc 49

back at stewart's hut, ada lies dispirited on the bed. flora lies

beside her holding ada's hand.

flora

tell me about my real father.

ada nods and strokes flora's hair from her face. flora leans back.

how did you speak to him?

ada signs to flora who watches in love with all the stories of her

mother and unreal father.

ada (subtitled)

i didn't need to speak, i could

lay thoughts out in his mind

like they were a sheet

flora

what happened? why didn't you

get married?

ada continues to sign her hands casting odd animal like shadows on the

newspapered walls.

ada cont.

after a while he became

frightened and he stopped

listening.

stewart enters their bedroom. flora stops and ada stands against the

wall. stewart finds the atmosphere curious yet impenetrate.

stewart

shall i kiss you goodnight?

flora looks up at her mother. ada shrugs.

stewart nods stiffly, and uncomfortably, he leaves.

sc 50 ext baines' verandah day sc 50

it's raining heavily, flora sits on the small verandah outside baines'

hut, her legs stuck straight out into the wet. she is overseeing a

merciless power game with the dog, forcing it out of the verandah with

a stick.

sc 51 int baine's hut day sc 51

ada's playing can be heard inside. baines sits back watching ada. her

cape on the hook is dripping a puddle on to the floor and there is a

circle of drips around her skirt hem. she is totally absorbed in her

piano music as she was on the beach.

baines watches. her long white neck, now wet from rain, proves

irresistible. he comes across the room and kisses her. ada jumps up

and prepares to leave. baines stands in front of the door.

baines

do you know how to bargain, nod

if you do.

she doesn't move,

there's a way you can have your

piano back. do you want it

back? you want it back?

ada eyes him suspiciously.

baines

you see i'd like us to make a

deal. there's things i want to

do while you stay. if you let

me you can earn it back.

what do you think, one visit

for every key.

ada is tense but she is thinking about it. she holds up a finger then

points to the black of her dress.

baines

your dress?

ada shakes her head.

skirt ...?

she walks over to her piano and points to a black key.

for every black one?

ada turns raising her head, nodding.

that's a lot less, half.

baines is counting the keys. ada starts for the front door.

all right, all right then, the

black keys.

she sits back at the piano. she plays the lowest black key as in

number one

she takes her hands off the piano waiting.

it's better that you play.

obediently she begins, stopping abruptly, indignantly, as he touches

her neck.

baines

play... keep playing.

after a moment she settles back to the piano.

sc 52 ext baines' verandah day sc 52

outside flora is cradling the poor confused dog, asking him what cruel

miserable person had sent him out into the cold and wet.

sc 53 ext riverhole near baines' day sc 53

baines bathes in a riverhole. he is watched by a gathering of maori,

sometimes with great seriousness, at other times with hilarity. they

pass between them his clothes, trying them on and mimicking him. one

of the older women hira crouches close to the bank keeping up a steady

line of inquiry. her manner is relaxed but focused and persistent. she

smokes a pipe-

hira

i got the good wife for you

peini. she pray good. clean.

read bible. you sleep her

peini. she chief daughter.

baines

no, no bible readers.

baines continues good humouredly washing.

hira

why? we need you pakeha clever.

you sleep her.

tahu

(a big man dressed as a woman)

(background) i give her plenty

clever. (gestures sexually)

baines

i have a wife.

tahu

(camping it up) i give her

clever eb peini. hallelujah!

hira

don't answer, he low born. jun

look at him, mongrel. your wife

where she?

baines

she lives her own life in new

jersey, america.

hira

you have spare wife here peini.

you get rnana for that. our

chief four wives.

baines shakes his head amusedly. as he gets out of the river hira

slaps him.

i marry white man peini, he a

whaler like you. he very good

to me. love me, nurse me.

hira touches her own face where baines' tattoo is.

hira

who do that? it not finish,

that no good peini. you finish!

several people on the bank are taking turns to comb their hair,

peering into a tiny piece of mirror.

sc 54 ext/int baines' hut day sc 54

baines' dog hears ada and flora approach. it takes off under the

house. flora calls the dog. it keeps well hidden. ada has gone on

inside and the door is closed. flora stands outside the door left out

and lonely. she knocks. baines answers.

flora

(small voice)

i want to speak to my mother

she buries her head in her mother's skirt.

i don't want to be outside, i

want to watch.

ada signs to flora.

i'll be very quiet.

ada leads her to the door signing to her

i won't look at him!

flora is shut out.

sc 55 int baines' hut day sc 55

ada sits at the piano. she is shy and nervous she turns to baines who

nods. ada begins to play. bainies keeps his head bowed, but as the

playing becomes more confident he raises his head to watch. he sits

at a far corner of the room apparently enjoying the whole vision or

this woman at her piano.

after some time baines, affected by the music, takes his chair to a

closer position and from an opposite angle. ada glances up as she

feels him passing behind her. he seems satisfied to watch. his

attention finally focuses on her neck as it bends further or closer to

the piano.

again he shifts his chair, taking it round the back and to the other

side of the piano. as he moves ada watches warily. from this position

be doesn't try to touch her, but watches, enjoying her fingers moving

on the keys and the small details of motion on her face. twice he

closes his eyes and breathes deeply baines is experiencing an

unpractised sense of appreciation and lust. when his eyes are closed,

ada glances at him with curiosity and suspicion.

sc 56 int school hall day sc 56

flora stands on a kitchen chair. aunt morag and nessie have paused

from fitting flora's bodice and wire angel wings. they are attempting

to learn the hand gestures as flora signs:

'i shall listen hard to rehearsal,

because i live too

far away to go often.'

aunt morag

(suspiciously) which sign is

the word rehearsal?

flora deftly demonstrates.

aunt morag

i can't imagine a fate worse

than being dumb. turn around.

nessie

to be deaf?

aunt morag

oh yes, dear too - terrible!

awful!''

flora

actually, to tell you the whole

truth, mama says most people

speak rubbish and it's not

worth the listen.

aunt morag and nessie exchange looks.

aunt morag

(stiffly) well, that is a

strong opinion.

flora

yes, it's unholy.

sc 57 int baines' hut day sc 57

ada is quick to remove a used plate and cup left on top of the piano.

baines is sitting next to the window, his elbow on the sill, his head

turned away.

baines

lift your skirt,

ada stops playing. she turns to him. thinks about it then slowly lifts

her skirt a little to show her boots.

lift it higher.

ada pulls the skirt up fractionally so the top other boots are

exposed.

bainies nods ada starts to play again, not so confidently as before.

baines moves close, he goes down on his knees to watch her feet on the

pedals.

baines

higher.

ada doesn't hear.

lift it higher.

she stops and lifts her skirt to her knees. she looks at baines with

ill-disguised contempt. baines is enthralled with her legs, or what he

can now see of them. he moves back to watch them from behind. he's

lying on the ground, head propped on his arm. ada's slim stockinged

calves work the pedals, one of the stockings has a small hole through

which her white skins shows

sc 58 ext mission house grounds dusk sc 58

heni holds stewart's horse near a wooden gate. its wet coat steams in

he night air, making the whole horse glow. heni talks softly to it in

maori.

sc 59 int mission house night sc 59

inside the reverend is closely watched by stewart, aunt morag and

nessie as he cuts out the shape of an axe from a piece of marbled

cardboard. a lamplight flickers warm tones across their faces while

the rest of the room is dark giving it a conspiratorial air.

reverend

nessie, your hand out ... out

here, please.

nessie

oh, no use mr stewart, i can't

act.

reverend

nessie, please.

nessie hesitatingly puts her arm out towards him and the reverend

chops away in the air two feet in front other, nessie looks at aunt

morag puzzled.