THE SCRIPT

SCENE 1 : “THE DEATH AT THE HOSPITAL”


1.SHOT: INT. Hospital room, darkish atmosphere

The SASAKI FAMILY is mourning over the prematurely deceased daughter SADAKO.

Top view, the sounds of crying. Sadako’s body enlightened.

Camera slow PAN IN for one half.

CUT TO:




1. SHOT: The title sequence “ 1000 cranes for peace“


Dark background (paper), white inscription. A red seal on the bottom.

Music starts.

FADE OUT TO:

2. SHOT: Close up to Sadako’s face.


Silence.

CUT TO:

3. SHOT: INT. “ Inside Her head”


Her eyes close. The blinding light from outside world disappears. The complete darkness for a while.

The sound of her heart beat (the heart beat monitor) is slowing down on the back the remote sound of the bomber plane coming closer.

Camera still.

SCENE 2: “THE ATOMIC BOMB FLASH BACK”



1. SHOT: The same darkness from the last scene becomes more defined as an interior of a bomber plane.

Two live-action masculine HANDS in a shape of fist appear in the bottom of the screen and travel up.

The sound of bomber becomes louder.

Camera sill, when the hands reach the top edge of the screen- starts tracking.

2. SHOT: The city on the top of a darkness


City appears on the top of “darkness”. The fists collide with the city from underneath. They are joined by several others when penetrating through the floor, causing a big clash. Together they create the shape of atomic bomb. Particles travel down.

Sounds of atomic bomb destruction.

Camera PANS OUT ¾ in a slight bird perspective angle AND STILL.

3. SHOT

The particles fall in a slow motion. From one of them 2 woman hands appear, carrying a CHILD. The child radiates. The hands come closer and closer, then stop.

Silence.

Camera subtle PAN IN onto the hands.

SCENE 3: “THE BAD NEWS”


1. SHOT INT. Hospital room

Close up- the hands carrying a child morph into the hands of a mourning girl- SADAKO. Hands slowly move down the face.



2.SHOT

Close up to the face. Eyes closed first , then open and the tears are pouring down the cheeks.

On the back we can hear the whisper of Sadako's father talking to her doctor about her diagnose:

DOCTOR:

"I'm afraid your daughter has an A-bomb disease... She has a year at the most..."

FATHER:

"No, nooo, noooooooooo! Not my daughter! Not my dear Sadako!"

PAN INTO:

3.SHOT

Close up to the eye. The eye closes and when it opens again we can see the reflection of a crane with a hand behind.

Silence. Crane wings flapping and a children playing in the distance.

CUT TO:

SCENE 4, 5 “THE WINDOW, MORPHE AND THE MAKING OF THE CRANES” and “THE RUN AND MORPHE INTO THE CRANE” montage (alternating from slow to progressed action)


BRIEF SYNOPSIS:

When waiting for her death sentence in a hospital, Sadako remembers the happy days when she loved to run. According to an old tradition, She gets an idea that making 1000 paper cranes will grant her a wish and in that final wish to run again and that all the children of the world will live in peace she becomes a crane herself, joining 999 others.


SCENE 4: INT. HOSPITAL


1.SHOT INT. Hospital WINDOW

Sadako at the window, watching the cranes passing by. Children are playing outside, silence in the hospital. Sadako’s hand is falling down and the body becomes heavy of pain when the cranes pass.


2.SHOT

Close up to the crane. It morphs into a paper crane and falls down into live action hands, which catch the crane and offer it to the camera.


The Friend reveals Sadako an old tradition:

FRIEND:

“ If you make 1000 cranes you will be granted a wish”

3.SHOT INT. HOSPITAL ROOM


Camera “dollys” through cranes that hang on the lines from the ceiling and reveals Sadako behind the table, making the paper cranes like obessed.

She is keep whispering to herself:

SADAKO:

“I wish to run again, I wish to run again, I wish to run again …
and I …”

4.SHOT

Close up to Sadako’s face, camera PANS OUT to the beginning shot of her on the death bed.


On the end of this shot her body morphs into the body in first shot of the last scene.

The whisper continues:

SADAKO:

“ …and I will write peace on your wings and you will take it around the wold…”

5. SCENE EXT. OPENED SPACE


1.SHOT

Sadako is running through the landscape cranes are always following her. We can even see them in shape of shadows, water reflections.

Sound of rustling, crackling paper and nature.


2. SHOT

Close up to Sadako’s hand swinging down as she is running.

Sound of heavy breathing.


3. SHOT

Close up to the cranes wing going up.

Sound of “swusssshhhhh”.


4.SHOT.

Close up to Sadako’s hand raising up as she is running.

Heavy breathing.


5. SHOT

Close up to the cranes wing going down.

Light Swusssshhhhh.


6.SHOT

Sadako puts both arms up as she will jump over the puddle.


7.SHOT

Her foot hits the puddle and pushes off. We see the reflection of cranes in the water.

7.SHOT

Sadako takes flight. She thinks she is a crane herself.

The Silence, soft sound of the plane in the distance, louder and louder sound of heart beat.



SCENE 6: “SADAKO BECOMES A CRANE FOLLOWED BY OTHER A-BOM DISEASE VICTIMS”


1.SHOT: EXT. SKY, EXTREME LOW ANGLE.

Sadako “flays off” and morphs into the crane.

Camera ZOOMS OUT and we see that she isn’t the only crane. They pass by, leaving clear sky behind.

Silence


2. SHOT

The inscription appears :

“ Today’s worldwide arsenal of atomic weapons is capable of repeating Hiroshima’ s destruction for 400.000 times!”