Save the Cat! Goes to the Indies

by Salva Rubio

  B Story: Another mirror “Professional Love” story starts when mentor-mentee, father-son figures meet at last! Jung and Freud (Viggo Mortensen) have their first, historic 13 -hour conversation.

  Fun and Games: An exploration of love, admiration and human relationships starts with mild (for now) disagreements between Jung and Freud over questions of method, race and social status, while Sabina seems to improve enormously. She develops her own theories about the destructive / creative nature of sex, which makes her further fascinated with Jung. Temptation seems to grow when another psychologist shows up for treatment but ends up treating Jung. Otto Gross (Vincent Cassel) rejects all kinds of self-repression and wants patients to be really free, even if they destroy themselves. “Do not pass by the oasis without stopping to drink,” Gross says to Jung, encouraging him to have a relationship with Sabina.

  Midpoint: Stakes are raised when Sabina insinuates herself to Jung, and they can no longer resist each other — they have sex, which feels to him like a “Midpoint defeat.” He tries to terminate the relationship, but she convinces him to go on, turning their encounters into masochistic sessions. A and B Stories cross when Freud announces to Jung that among his disciples, he is the “crown prince.”

  Bad Guys Close In: Bigger disagreements start building between them. Jung wants to explore such subjects as telepathy or parapsychology, while Freud wants him to remain in the field of the apparently more scientific sexual theory. Meanwhile, Jung and Sabina continue their relationship, which threatens to “make the team disintegrate” as word is spreading that Jung is sleeping with one of his patients. Terrified, Jung leaves Sabina, enraging her so much that she seeks Freud’s help and mentorship, which Jung successfully blocks — for now. Sabina counterattacks and blackmails Jung forcing him to confess to Freud that he lied, making her successfully his new pupil and distancing herself from Jung even more. The “team further dis-integrates” when Jung takes Freud to the US and while on the trip, the mentor refuses to be psychoanalyzed by the mentee, afraid of losing his authority. Back at home, Sabina asks Jung to work together again, while they fool themselves into thinking they can avoid their “Professional Love” story. Of course, they start having sex again and this time, she is the one to leave him, hurting him deeply. Sabina realizes how much the old master and pupil have grown apart from each other.

  All Is Lost: After an editorial meeting, Jung and Freud have a deeply symbolic and subtext-drenched conversation about the erasing of the father figure, and possibly affected by the talk, Freud suffers a stroke and almost dies in Jung’s hands.

  Dark Night of the Soul: In a series of deeply bitter letters, the two former friends and mutual admirers sadly certify the death of their relationship.

  Break into Three: As they quote Hamlet saying “the rest is silence,” Jung symbolically crushes his mentor’s last letter and at the same time Freud puts the photograph of his rejected pupil away in a box. Both men are devastated, but too proud to change. With the A and B Stories crossing for the last time, their mirror “Professional Love” is finished. Now, what about Sabina?

  Finale:

  Gathering the Team: Sabina “gathers” with Jung’s wife, who tells her that his husband is deeply depressed and only she can analyze and perhaps cure him. However, Sabina’s plans are very different — she is pregnant (by a doctor she has married) and has come to say goodbye.

  Executing the Plan: Sabina sits with a saddened Jung and tries to make him see how lucky he is for everything he has. But he seems distressed, and tells her about a prophetic dream he has had about a coming tide of blood washing over Europe (World War I).

  High Tower Surprise: They both realize that they keep looking for each other in their new relationships, Sabrina’s new husband and Jung’s new mistress. They (and us too!) realize that their love was deeper than they thought.

  Dig, Deep Down: Sabina tells him to cure people, trying not to hurt himself more in the process, but Jung answers that “only the wounded physician can hope to heal,” revealing how much walking in the perilous path of this “dangerous method” has changed him.

  The Execution of the New Plan: They separate to never see each other again.

  Final Image: Sabina started off as a very distressed, mentally ill patient, but her character arc has made her a balanced, talented psychologist ready to help others. Meanwhile, the optimistic and passionate Jung has turned into a bitter, depressed individual. They have been changed forever, in so different ways, by their “Professional Love” story.

  BEFORE SUNRISE (1995)

  One night, one city, and just two characters — director Richard Linklater took a huge creative challenge when he decided to have just these ingredients, resulting in a film in which its main characters do little more than walk and talk! Of course, there is more: the incredible, charming chemistry between Ethan Hawke as Jesse and Julie Delpy as Céline that — for now — has lasted three wonderful films.

  Structure-wise, Before Sunrise is a seamless film, with no apparent act breaks, no major plot occurrences, no spectacular twists, no great revelations, no big arguments... seemingly un-beat-able too? It’s just that everything happens underneath the surface, and our Beat Sheet does as well.

  Look twice: under all that apparently light dialogue, there is a large amount of subtext, and behind those naturalistic, improv-like performances, there are dozens of hours of rehearsing. Most importantly, the story contains all of our BL components: an “incomplete hero” who doesn’t seem to believe in romantic love, a “counterpart” who can help him learn otherwise, and “a complication that ties them together and sets them apart,” that is, the little time they have to spend with each other.

  Meet then, our “Rom-com Love” story, in which, like the classic Hollywood counterpart, the smiles, laughs and feel-good mood is present, but there is also the fear that our lovers will not end up together. Will they re-unite in six months as planned? Well, back in the day, audiences had to wait for almost a decade for the sequel to learn the answer! And thankfully, 30 years later and another sequel, Jesse and Céline’s love story is still being told.

  BL Type: Rom-com Love

  BL Cousins: Once, Four Weddings and a Funeral, (500) Days of Summer, Punch Drunk Love, Me and You and Everyone We Know

  BEFORE SUNRISE

  Written by Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan

  Directed by Richard Linklater

  Opening Image: A seemingly straight railway track momentarily crosses another. What if the two tracks joined, making one way where before there were two? Our film starts with undeniably symbolic trains and the people who populate them, like young Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy) who, for the time being, are headed in the same direction.

  Set-Up: Upon hearing an Austrian couple’s discussion on the train, Céline gets up and sits down, not very far from Jesse, who rises to the occasion and tries his best lousy pick-up lines on her. Soon, we learn that he is a backpacking American on his way home, and she is a French student returning to Paris. He plays the literary lone traveler while she plays the misunderstood young daughter. He is so full of himself and she is afraid of everything. And while they try to play it cool, we are already smiling — it is so evident that they are into each other!

  Theme Stated: Although in this clever, thematically subtext-drenched film, many of the things they say could be considered “stated themes,” let’s choose the title of the book Jesse is reading: Klaus Kinski’s autobiography: All I Need Is Love. And isn’t that what they both need? But wait — do they need the same kind of love? They will have just one night to figure that out!

  B Story: Quite an easy beat in a film with basically two characters, so look no further: Jesse and Céline are our “Rom-com Love” buddies, and the film will basically deal with how meeting each other for less than 24 hours will change them forever and, more specifically, how their philosophy about love itself will change, too.

  Catalyst: At minute 13, the train stops and Jesse boldly invite
s Céline to spend the day with him in Vienna.

  Debate: In pre-“but we’re not even Facebook friends” times, wasn’t it crazy to spend the day in a foreign city with someone you just randomly met? Jesse “helps” Céline Debate why she should leave the train with him, and he convinces her to imagine it’s a time-travel adventure. After they get off, they seem a little awkward, still Debating if what they did was okay before discussing what they should do for the day... like maybe attending a theater piece later (we don’t think so — insert your mental wink emoticon here).

  Break into Two: Their wanderings through Vienna begin, along with this: “We’re stuck together, so we’ll ask each other a few direct questions.” Time to start their 24 -hour (clock ticking) dating challenge! There is “no turning back” for the two of them!

  Fun and Games: They both have evident Fun and Games, first on the tram when they ask each other silly questions about their (sex) lives — they are exploring the upside-down version of conventional dating, where you have anything from months to a lifetime to figure out if that person is the right one. They barely have a day, and thus the promise of the premise is delivered. We soon learn that they apparently have quite different views about love: Céline seems the hopeless romantic and Jesse the rugged nonbeliever. As they spend the day together, however, the distinctions become blurred, especially when they share a kiss and continue having a fun time at an amusement park with a Ferris wheel (one you cinephiles should recognize).

  Midpoint: They seem to be moving toward true sincerity when Céline says, “I am having a great time,” a false victory and a public coming ou t in her own way, being frank when speaking about how she, as a woman, should be devising a strategy to “get” Jesse. Also, the stakes are raised when they talk about what they don’t like about each other. “Were we having our first fight back there?” A Story (the possibility of their being together) and B Story (their differences about how love should be) cross when a street poet says, “I carry you, you carry me, that’s how it could be.” But will they dare to think that their love can really happen? Also acknowledging that clocks are ticking: “What good is saved time if nobody uses it?” Well, they’d better make the most of this situation!

  Bad Guys Close In: There are no extraneous characters, but the writers have provided internal Bad Guys: insecurity, fear, differences — anything that could separate the duo. They start confessing the truth about their past relationships and discuss what isolates men and women in regards to love — things such as “men justifying their fooling around” and “women destroying men.” Their chat becomes more personal when they finally talk about what they want to find in a relationship: “Loving someone and being loved means much to me,” says Céline, while soon after, Jesse implies that personal fulfillment is more important for him than love. They seem to be falling further apart, the “team dis-integrating,” until they decide not to solve their differences then and there; after all, they will only be together for a short time.

  All Is Lost: They finally acknowledge that their night is about to end and they will become separated forever: “After tomorrow morning, we’ll probably never see each other again, right?”

  Dark Night of the Soul: They contemplate the “death” of their short love and Céline says, “It’s depressing, no?” Also, two tramways (a recurrent visual thematic symbol in the movie) move apparently in the same direction — but this time on different tracks.

  Break into Three: The couple get some wine and go to the park, the sexual tension sizzling by now! Although they aren’t certain that “doing it” could hurt them, Jesse makes A and B Stories cross when he says, “If somebody gave me the choice right now of to never see you again or to marry you, I would marry you.” A romantic Moment of Clarity if there ever was one!

  Finale:

  Gathering the Team: In the morning, they enjoy their last moments together, gathering the strength to soon separate. They dance in the street and afterwards, Jesse says, “You cannot conquer time,” quoting W. H. Auden.

  Executing the Plan: Their “plan,” as devised during the night, is simply to go back to the train station and split. “I guess this is it, no?” They try to say goodbye, but it is hard.

  High Tower Surprise: The Surprise comes when they kiss and all rational thoughts aside, they reckon that they love each other too much, that it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so they agree to see each other again in six months.

  Dig, Deep Down: Now that it is clear that they love each other, both have to “dig, deep down” to say goodbye for real and to trust the other’s love.

  The Execution of the New Plan: Their new plan is to separate and then see each other again in six months.

  Final Image: At the beginning, they didn’t know each other, but they were going in the same direction. Now, they are in love and heartbroken, traveling in opposite directions. Jesse has found out that he is a romantic at heart, and Céline has discovered that she is more rational that she once thought, certifying the “two-hander” nature of the film: meeting another has indeed changed them forever. You may be wondering... did they finally see each other as planned? Well, to find out, you’ll need to watch the rest of the trilogy... and fall in love, if only briefly, with Jesse and Céline again.

  THE READER (2008)

  “Epic Love” stories, as defined by Blake, are those in which “sweeping events bring our lovers together”... and also set them apart. We are clearly talking about the necessary “complication” for our film’s couple of buddies, which usually implies such dramatic settings as wars, difficult times and complicated environments.

  These epics may span for many years, horizons or situations — in this case, almost four decades. In it, we have an “incomplete hero” in teenager Michael Berg, who falls in love with tram conductor Hanna Schmitz, bringing many complications into their lives: age, environment, and especially... secrecy.

  Kate Winslet won a great number of awards for her fantastic, restrained performance in playing the crude yet sensitive lover of stories, who has a very complicated past. Both Colin Firth and young David Kross do justice to their roles as well, infusing their characters with sadness, melancholy and tension.

  Holocaust, German guilt, shame and forgiveness are some of the ingredients of this German/US co-production featuring the talented English director Stephen Daldry (The Hours, Billy Elliot), and playwright and screenwriter Sir David Hare, adapting the novel by Bernhard Schlink — an undeniable mixture of talents and awards! So what are you waiting for? Start reading this Beat Sheet... or have someone special read it to you.

  BL Type: Epic Love

  BL Cousins: The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Paradise Now, Wuthering Heights, Hiroshima Mon Amour, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

  THE READER

  Based on the book by Bernhard Schlink

  Screenplay by David Hare

  Directed by Stephen Daldry

  Opening Image: Berlin, 1995. A man carefully sets down breakfast for a much younger woman, with whom he has spent the night. As we will see in our Theme Stated, she complains about her inability to know what he is thinking. And that is the main change our character will undergo: from being closed-off toward others to opening up... a change that will take him almost 40 years.

  Theme Stated: “Does any woman ever stay long enough to find out what the hell goes on in your head?” asks Michael Berg’s (Colin Firth) apparent one-night stand. In this film, we will focus on two things about Michael: his inability to settle down with a woman (because, as we will find out, he has not forgotten a certain “counterpart”) and the inability to open up and reveal his deepest secret — because secrets, and the consequences of keeping them, are the theme of this movie.

  Set-Up: Back in 1958, we meet young Michael (David Kross), a “kid” living in postwar reconstruction Germany. He feels sick during a tram trip and is helped in a classic “Save the Cat!” moment by tough Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet), who embraces him and takes him to his home. After spending
some months there while recovering from scarlet fever, Michael visits Hanna to thank her. Although she seems distant, Hannah lets him see her changing clothes and Michael, ashamed, flees.

  B Story: Our B Story involves, obviously, Michael and Hanna, an unlikely couple “set apart” by many circumstances, the most obvious one being their age. For this and other reasons, their relationship will be built upon secrecy, a further “complication” that will also keep them together.

  Catalyst: Michael returns to Hanna’s home but gets dirty with charcoal. She tells him to clean himself in her bathtub, but then she appears naked and embraces him. They make love for the first time.

  Debate: Is it possible that two people of different age, social class and upbringing can love each other? For now, it all seems to be about sex for them, and Michael returns there after school so that he can see her more. The secret builds: Michael does not tell anything to anyone, neither family nor friends, starting to isolate himself with Hanna. Also, when he asks to know her name, she suddenly becomes serious. “You look so suspicious,” he says. He still doesn’t know how many secrets Hannah hides. And if there were any kind of thematic doubt, Michael’s teacher says, “The notion of secrecy is central to Western Literature.” Someone said secrecy and literature? Michael starts reading a book to Hanna, and she seems delighted. They still don’t know how important reading will be for their lives.

  Break into Two: They argue bitterly over a misunderstanding, and Hanna says, “You don’t matter enough to upset me.” Michael cries and tells her that they have been together for a month and that he loves her. He asks her if she feels the same way, and she concedes. Their true “Epic Love” story has officially begun!

  Fun and Games: What is it like for a teenager’s first love to be with an older woman? And can it be sustained with sex, laughs and reading aloud? The promise of the premise (and the film’s title) are delivered when she decides to have him read aloud to her before each sex session. And Fun they have! It is laughter, tears and enjoyment for them while exploring the world of books. More classic Fun and Games moments come when they go for a cycling holiday, when Hanna cries upon hearing children singing in church and when he writes a poem about her. Also, Michael has interactions with his classmates at school, but he leaves them, including a girl who has a crush on him, to be with Hanna every day.