Save the Cat! Goes to the Indies

by Salva Rubio

  Debate: “Any questions?” asks Dr. Lester, opening our Debate section. Craig wonders why everything is so strange, but the weird orientation video does not make things clear, and he seems more interested in a mysterious woman in white. At home, he unemotionally rejects having kids with Lotte. At work, he keeps hitting on the sexy woman, figuring out her name (identity!): she is ambitious Maxine (Catherine Keener). No matter how hard Craig tries, she does not seem interested, so at home, he builds a Maxine puppet. “Why are you a puppeteer?” he makes her puppet ask. “Perhaps it’s the idea of becoming someone else for a little while,” he answers. In our OOTB story, that is his “wish.”

  Break into Two: Craig’s desire is promptly satisfied as the “spell” unfolds. He accidentally discovers a door in his office that leads to the inside of John Malkovich’s head! Craig stays in Malkovich’s mind for a little while, just to know how it feels to be famous. And then... he is out! This brief experience has already changed him, so nothing can ever be the same.

  B Story: Our “love story” pertains, of course, to Maxine, the object of desire for Craig.... and for Lotte! As we will see in time, one special feature of this film is that its double narrative will make us follow both Craig’s and Lotte’s efforts to win Maxine’s cold heart.

  Fun and Games: When Craig returns from Malkovich’s head, he promptly explains The Rules to Maxine: there is a door in his office that takes him “inside John Malkovich, and after about 15 minutes, you are spit out into a ditch on the side of the New Jersey Turn-pike.” She has become his Confidant, a figure with whom the OOTB hero shares the secret of the new world, which sometimes, as we will see, means trouble. Craig also makes Lotte a Confidant, and after being inside Malkovich herself, she decides she wants to be a man. “I knew who I was,” she says, further hammering on our identity theme. Lotte makes a strange discovery — maybe Dr. Lester knows about the portal too. Soon, Craig and Maxine are making money taking people for the Malkovich ride, and she contacts the actor directly, seducing him while Lotte is inside. “You shouldn’t assume that switching bodies is gonna be the answer to your problems,” says Craig. But is he paying attention to his own “lesson”?

  Midpoint: A “Midpoint party” in which A and B Stories cross is held when Craig and Lotte invite Maxine over for dinner. Afterwards, they both try to get the “kiss from the girl,” and while she rejects Craig, Maxine tells Lotte she is smitten by her — but only while she is in Malkovich’s body. It’s a public coming out for everyone and a false defeat for the couple, as they have not only been rejected, but their marriage is clearly falling apart.

  Bad Guys Close In: Business goes great for the Malkovich ride, but Craig is depressed and in bed again. Maxine has Sex at 60 with the actor just to be with Lotte when she is inside his mind (are you following?). Craig cannot stand the pressure, so “the team starts to disintegrate.” Jealous, he kidnaps Lotte and decides to get inside Malkovich, starting to control the actor like the puppeteer he is. After seeking Charlie Sheen’s hilarious advice, Malkovich decides to investigate, and as the Bad Guy, he “tightens the grip” on Maxine and Craig when he discovers the portal into his own head, finding out what a nightmare world it is to be inside oneself. As the travesty is discovered, Malkovich orders the portal to be shut. This is key, for from now own, the narrative will switch between Craig and Lotte, doubling our beats.

  All Is Lost: With our beats duplicated, All Is Lost for Craig as he realizes, like Lotte says, that Maxine is not interested in him. He is “worse off than when he started” — he had a wife and a family, now he is penniless, jobless and loveless. For Lotte, All Is Lost comes a little later, as Maxine also rejects her when she finds out that the last time she made love to Malkovich, it was Craig who was inside his mind.

  Dark Night of the Soul: “What have I become? What am I, some kind of monster?” reflects Craig, contemplating his further loss of identity. Lotte’s Dark Night is seeing herself first caged like an animal, then out in the rain, totally alone and with no one caring for her but her chimp.

  Break into Three: Craig returns and enters Malkovich, telling Lotte that he has discovered how to remain inside the actor and fully control him, showing off with the puppet’s dance. His Moment of Clarity is a negative one, since he does not seem to want to “do it without the magic.” At the same time, Dr. Lester tells Lotte the truth: he has been using the portal for decades to find new bodies, basically becoming immortal, and at midnight, he and his friends will enter Malkovich forever. But if one enters after midnight, one’s identity is lost forever.

  Finale:

  Gathering the Team: Synthesis starts for Craig when he plans to turn Malkovich from an actor into a puppeteer. At the same time, Lotte finds her “team” in the old friends of Dr. Lester, and they offer her a place in the actor’s head.

  Executing the Plan: For several months, Craig “executes his plan” by becoming famous with Malkovich’s body. He does not realize that Maxine does not pay attention to him anymore; she is playing with a puppet in the shape of Lotte, whom she misses. When he is away from home, Dr. Lester and Lotte execute their plan: to kidnap Maxine.

  High Tower Surprise: Thus, Craig’s “surprise” is the disappearance of Maxine — he is forced to leave Malkovich’s body or Maxine will be killed. But Maxine tries to escape, so this is a High Tower Surprise for Lotte, who chases Maxine inside the actor’s subconscious.

  Dig, Deep Down: After being spat out of Malkovich’s head, Maxine reveals that the child she is bearing is actually Lotte’s, as she conceived the baby while Lotte was inside Malkovich. Then Lotte “digs, deep down” and accepts Maxine, fulfilling her dream to be both a “mother” and a “man.” At the same time, to save Maxine, Craig “digs, deep down” and accepts leaving Malkovich’s body.

  The Execution of the New Plan: Dr. Lester and his friends enter Malkovich’s head before midnight, but Lotte does not show up, signaling that she will “do it without the magic.” Still hoping to regain Maxine, Craig shows that he has not changed, and he enters Malkovich after midnight.

  Final Image: Seven years later, Lester/Malkovich has married his secretary and offers a bald Charlie Sheen eternal life. At the same time, Lotte and Maxine are the loving parents of their daughter Emily, inside whom there is still some of Craig’s identity! He is slowly being absorbed by the child and disappearing, thus losing any remaining trace of himself, as he never learned, as OOTB heroes should, that life is good as it is.

  AMÉLIE (2001)

  Say the name of this film and you will start noticing small, magical details surrounding you, probably with the accompaniment of accordions, dreamy piano pieces, saturated warm colors, the aroma of café au lait and even the sight of a Montmartre street at dusk. But can tiny details and small plaisirs as these change your life?

  That is the promise of Amélie, the unforgettable and internationally successful 1999 French film ($ 10 m budget, $ 173.9 m box office) that tells the story of shy and charming Amélie Poulain, an “angel” who uses small, private details to make the lives of those around her happier and more fulfilled. But what about her own life?

  This OOTB film fits in the “Angel Bottle” subgenre, in which “a magical being (Amélie) comes into a unique world (Montmartre) and bestows a wish on those deserving it (her neighbors),” and this means that ironically, our main character is also the “angel” of the story. But to achieve her own “wishes,” does she not need an unlikely angel, too?

  A little like a French Mary Poppins or Nanny McPhee, Amélie silently, sweetly and secretly cures pains, ailments and depression. And like Zorro, she leaves her loving mark on everyone that surrounds her... everyone but herself, that is. This OOTB shows us how the “wish” to help those around us can also hide the necessity of remembering to fulfill our own dreams.

  OOTB Type: Angel Bottle

  OOTB Cousins: Looking for Eric, Ruby Sparks, Donnie Darko, Wings of Desire, Miracle in Milan

  AMÉLIE (LE FABULEUX DESTIN D’AMÉLIE POULAIN)
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br />   Written by Guillaume Laurant and Jean-Pierre Jeunet

  Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet

  Opening Image: Petite, charming details are everywhere in the Parisian neighborhood of Montmartre, with no one apparently paying attention to them. They are so tiny and so easily unnoticed that it seems impossible that some of them could change our world, just like a newborn baby named Amélie.

  Theme Stated: “Amélie likes...” The film opens with the everyday “likes and dislikes” of several characters, including the quirky fixations and small pleasures of Amélie’s parents as well as Amélie herself. These seemingly insignificant “likes and dislikes” are the basis of our theme, because — surprisingly — they can affect our lives greatly.

  Set-Up: During the credits sequence in which Amélie has her “fun moment,” her main flaw is revealed: she plays children’s games alone. The reason is soon revealed: “at home,” and after we meet her perfectionist and neurotic parents, we learn that Amélie spent her childhood in isolation because they thought she had a heart condition. As a result, she developed an overactive imagination. After she grows up (having discovered her power to either make people happy or take revenge on them using their likes and dislikes), we see her now “at work” in a café. We also meet her quirky friends and coworkers (are not every of them in their own Stasis=Death moments?). Even if she seems happy while around them, we get the feeling that she still is alone… and lonely.

  Catalyst: Loudly announced by the narrator, the “moment that will change her life forever” is when she hears the news of the tragic death of Lady Di. Stunned. she drops the cap of a perfume bottle, which breaks a tile, which reveals a hole where she finds a tin box full of children’s toys. Is it “small” enough to change her life? Amélie decides to find the owner. If he is moved by the gesture, she will become a regular do-gooder. That is, she will become an “angel.”

  Debate: Is it really possible to think that a small treasure like this could change anyone’s life? First, Amélie must find the owner, and while doing so, she discovers that many of her neighbors seem to need the intervention of an “angel” like her. By chance she meets Nino, a strange young man who collects torn, discarded pictures from photo booths. Amélie is attracted to him, but she is too shy to say anything. She then discovers that there are three possible owners of the tin box, but none of them seems to be the correct one. So, in the spirit of the Debate, what now? Time for a double bump and to meet our B Story Character.

  B Story: In this case, the B Story Character is also a mentor: Mr. Dufayel, an old painter who has brittle bone disease. Soon, we will notice that he and Amélie are quite similar in many senses — both find it difficult relating to people and both are “angels” (since Dufayel will become Amelie’s). He also knows about The Rules (Amélie will not confront her protégés, always acting anonymously) and so becomes her Confidant.

  Break into Two: Helped by Dufayel, Amélie finally seeks the owner of the box, Bretodeau, and she creates a way for him to find the box by himself. Immediately, Bretodeau starts crying and reflects on his life, deciding that he will make amends with his estranged daughter. “It must be my guardian angel,” he says, referencing our genre and turning Amélie into a happiness-giving being.

  Fun and Games: What a wonderful scene to start this section! Amélie walks through the neighborhood helping a blind man “see” the great little things around him. She also starts exploring her new “angel” persona, even though she is aware that she might forget about herself and end up isolated. She again encounters Nino from the photo booth and finds his lost picture album, causing her to like him even more. But she still cannot think about herself, as she has many people to help first — making hypochondriac coworker Georgette fall in love with jealous Joseph, or avenging simple-minded Lucien by making fun of obnoxious grocer Collignon. Other plans involve many more preparations to carry out, like sending off the traveling gnome stolen from her reclusive father, showing she is a master of subterfuge, reflecting her own “magic.” But will she have to confront Nino to give him back the album?

  Midpoint: This beat usually needs one false victory for our hero, but in this case, Amélie is granted many, like the Collignon revenge or the start of Joseph and Georgette’s love affair. Is not their scandalous encounter in the toilette a big, loud Sex at 60? Lucien and Dufayel also celebrate, and Amélie starts influencing Dufavel’s life with videos of miraculous little things. A and B Stories cross as the old man tells her: “You have to catch your chance while you can.” And Amélie does her public coming out when she dares to find Nino at the carnival. Unfortunately, she still is not able to speak to him.

  Bad Guys Close In: Clearly, there are not external Bad Guys in this film, but this is where we slowly see how Amelie’s “old values don’t work anymore.” She devises another subterfuge for Nino to find the album, but it is clear that this will not bring them closer, even if Nino proactively Closes In by leaving posters all around to meet her. In contrast, Amélie continues using her time to help others and hilariously punishes Collignon. Battling her inner Bad Guys, Amelie decides to “go for broke” and leaves Nino a message to meet her at her own bar, raising the stakes even more.

  All Is Lost: Nino is late, so Amélie’s exaggerated imagination thinks that after a lot of misfortunes, he is in the Afghan mountains and will never come back. But he does indeed appear, and he recognizes her. Although she knows Nino is her perfect match, she chickens out and tells him she is not the girl he is looking for. Another lost chance!

  Dark Night of the Soul: Amélie “is beaten and she knows it” when she sees Nino leave and imagines that she becomes tears, disappearing among the café’s tiles.

  Break into Three: This beat always implies some kind of reflection by the hero, during which a mentor often comes in handy. So Amélie makes A and B Stories cross and visits her own angel, Mr. Dufayel, who encourages her to stop using subterfuge — or she will always be a coward. Even in her imaginary world, Amélie knows that she must change or mess up her life.

  Finale:

  Gathering the Team: Inspired by Mr. Dufayel, Amélie “amends hurts” and decides to “gather” her own resources to try and win over Nino, devising a new plan which involves (again) a subterfuge. Hasn’t she learned yet?

  Executing the Plan: Her “plan” is to make Nino discover the answer to the mystery that haunts them both, involving the identity of a bald man in Nino’s album. But when she is about to appear, she has doubts and Nino vanishes from sight. And what is worse, Joseph implies that Nino is dating workmate Gina... who is actually testing Nino’s good heart.

  High Tower Surprise: As Amélie laments her bad decisions, Nino surprises her by showing up at her home. She pretends not to be there, and off he goes again. As part of this “surprise,” Amélie discovers a video made by her angel and mentor, Mr. Dufayel: “If you let this chance go by, your heart will become as dry and brittle as my skeleton.... Go and get him.”

  Dig, Deep Down: Inspired by Mr. Dufayel’s words, Amélie opens the door to chase Nino and finds him standing there. Although unable to speak, she “digs, deep down” to execute her own new plan...

  The Execution of the New Plan:...which involves no words, but simply being herself. Amélie lightly kisses Nino on the corner of his mouth, on his neck and on his eyelid, with him tenderly returning her small gestures. Mr. Dufayel knows everything went right at last.

  Final Image: We behold how Amelie´s little miracles have changed everyone’s lives, including Bretodou and her own reclusive father, who decides to go for a trip. Even Mr. Dufayel, who is painting something new for the first time in 20 years, has been transformed. Amélie and Nino ride his bike through the streets of Montmartre, no longer alone, but happy, in love and changed forever.

  HER (2013)

  The “Thing Bottle” subgenre of OOTB deals with some kind of elixir, formula, totem or object whose magic “brings about a desired transformation in one’s life,” as Blake said. So what if an Operatin
g System (OS) could transform your life by fulfilling all your emotional needs? Can that love be “real” enough?

  This is the theme we find in this acclaimed work by longtime alter -reality explorer Spike Jonze, and it is also reportedly his first solo screenplay. The film earned almost 80 nominations worldwide, with over 20 “Screenplay” wins, including the Academy Award ® for Best Writing, Original Screenplay.

  In the film, we meet Theodore Twombly, working as a “letter writer” in a seemingly-near future where mobile devices can have Artificial Intelligence, to the extent that people can communicate with them as if they were real individuals.

  Even with these technical capabilities, can an OS like “Samantha” really care for her user, or is it all programming? And what’s more, what would happen if once a device has fallen in love with a human… could it also fall out of love? And then… could we live without its “magic”?

  OOTB Type: Thing Bottle

  OOTB Cousins: Re-Animator, The Evil Dead, The Babadook, The Jacket, Lars and the Real Girl

  HER

  Written and directed by Spike Jonze

  Opening Image: A close-up of Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), his gaze lost in inspiration as he dictates a love letter... to someone he doesn’t even know! Theodore works for a company that writes surrogate letters to their customers’ loved ones. Theodore seems to enjoy expressing his own feelings in this distant way. But can he handle them with a real person?

  Theme Stated: “They are just letters,” says Theodore to his colleague Paul (Chris Pratt). He seems to be aware of the “lesson”: that to truly love someone there has to be more than words or a voice, something like... well, a real person. By the end, will he have really learned this lesson?