THE KEY

Written and Directed by

REDHA DEKAR

EXT. COURT . DAY

We see through leaves as they are shaken by the wind, we move forward as we admire the sun rays that are diffused through the leaves ,we continue to explore through the bushes until we end up reaching dead leaves.

We glimpse faint, we discover a posture, a man whose back to us, and...

INSERT CUT

We see a hand pushing magazines and books off of a table.

EXT. COURT . DAY

We slowly move toward the man whose back to us , as we arrive closer...

INSERT CUT

We see a troubled and agitated MAN, being the HOUSE OWNER, surrounded by two MASKED MEN, being THE BURGLARS, one wearing white and the other black, this latter is holding the HOUSE OWNER up with a gun.

BURGLAR IN WHITE(Yelling)Where’s the key ?

HOUSE OWNERThe key’s been stolen from me 3 days ago !

BURGLAR IN WHITEDon't lie to us !

EXT. COURT . DAY

We keep moving towards the man’s back, as we arrive closer, the man reaches in his pocket , he picks something out from his pocket , he seems looking at it , and...

BLACK SCREEN

We hear a gunshot that occurs simultaneously with the display of the title :

THE KEY

FADES TO

INT. COURT . DAY

A man standing in front of us, wearing a white mask, his mask is void of emotions and expressions, immobile , hearing a conversation that occurs between the TWO BURGLARS :

BURGLAR IN WHITESuch a pussy ! always been. One bullet to take him down.

Burglars IN BLACK who seems to be the shooter utters in shock

BURGLAR IN BLACKDidn't mean to shoot, the bullet just went off.

(BEAT)What have I..

BURGLAR IN WHITEYou did the right thing ,(pauses)and the key’s not here, we gotta go check his other house.

BURGLAR IN BLACKAnd we leave him like this ?

BURGLAR IN BLACK is about to check the man’s pulse, but BURGLAR IN WHITE holds him firmly.

BURGLAR IN WHITEHis family will be here shortly, we need to move the body, (PAUSES)we don't need to linger here, the neighbors might have heard the gunshot.

(thinks)We will burry him inside the house.

BURGLAR IN BLACK(Furious) Just....just Like that, we go burry our friend and we leave....thatsimple !

BURGLAR IN WHITE gets irritated , holds his fellow con’s hand and points to the man’s body :

BURGLAR IN WHITEListen ! You see this prick ! He is the reason why you live like a dog, he was stealing our lives.If it weren’t us, others would come and dispose of him, and don't pretend otherwise , it had to happen.

2.

BURGLAR IN BLACKNot like that, he was our friend.

BURGLAR IN WHITEHe used us all, and he didn’t care to have a second thought about it, the world is a better place without him.

BURGLAR IN BLACK puts his gun underneath his belt and says in ruefulness :

BURGLAR IN BLACKBecause of a bloody key...

BURGLAR IN WHITEYeah the reason we came for !

BURGLAR IN BLACKI always planned to kill him for what he’s done, I....I cant believe...

Burglar IN WHITE interrupts him

BURGLAR IN WHITEFocus on the damn key, we are here for the same reason !

BURGLAR IN BLACKNot as my reason...

BURGLAR IN WHITEEnough! We are loosing time !Let’s take him to the courtyard, we’ll burry him beneath his cherished trees.

We move forward, to the man in white mask , the two burglars are busy to lift their friend’s body, the masked man lowers to grab the cartridge from the bullet that has been shot, we focus on the cartridge and then on his mask again, he is about to stand and...

INT. CORRIDOR. DAY

We follow the two burglars move their friend’s body , they go past a glass door.

INT.COURT.DAY

The masked man stands up, we notice spots on his mask , color brownish, as if the mask became moldy. He follows them (towards us). We move slowly to the glass door.

3.

The masked man does the same. As we get closer to the door , we shift to the masked man who stops moving at the sound of a broken jar. We witness along the masked man and through the thick glass the two silhouettes of the burglars dragging the body.

BURGLAR IN WHITEBe careful damn it ! get yourself together !

BURGLAR IN BLACKI can’t, can’t believe we ‘re doing this ...

BURGLAR IN WHITEShut up ! you calm yourself, We don’t have time for that.

(PAUSES)And watch your steps.

They resume dragging the body to the courtyard. We see the door opened and we explore the corridor as we see the broken jar on the floor.

From the jar’s perspective, we see the masked man walking towards us, lowers to collect the pieces and we see a portion of his mask fell on the pieces , his mask has an apparent change in color, gloomy, besides being ripped from that portion. We almost see his face, he stands on his feet again and carries on moving, he faints but gets himself together, suddenly, something from his right catches his attention.

INT. LIVING-ROOM .DAY

The masked man saunters to the table, he grabs what’s on it and sits on a chair.

We move forward from that point, and we reach to a window, we see the reflection of the two burglars along with their friend’s body. BURGLAR IN BLACK STOPS.

BURGLAR IN BLACK (FURIOUSLY)

Can’t believe what I did, I cant believe I came for this....he Was my friend.....HE WAS YOUR FRIEND !

BURGLAR IN WHITESO ? He knew we’d come , and he knew who we are.

BURGLAR IN BLACKSo why the theatrics ? Why the masks ?

4.

BURGLAR IN WHITEHe might have cameras in this house, he maybe..

BURGLAR IN BLACKYou’ve gone mad, and you dragged me into your madness

BURGLAR IN WHITE is about to say something , but they both look at the same direction, a sound gets closer and closer, it’s a siren wailing.

BURGLAR IN WHITEYour friends are here, we better get the hell outta here..

BURGLAR IN BLACKLook what we’ve done, there’s no escape.

BURGLAR IN WHITEThings get ugly, and we can do nothing about it, it’s his fault, ....And his alone.

BURGLAR IN BLACKI cant believe I planned for this, planned to gun him down...there’sno escape...

BURGLAR IN WHITE(hysterically)

What the....You know, you are welcome to stay. I’ll go for the key myself. You know where I’ll be if you have a change of heart.

BURGLAR IN WHITE flees the scene, leaving both his fellow con and their friend’s body lying on the ground, as we move closer..

Close up on BURGLAR IN BLACK.

Close up on the HOUSE OWNER’s body.

Then

Close up on the man with the ripped mask.

Close up on a picture he’s holding, a picture of 3 happy friends.

We are on the same level as the man with ripped mask, as soon as he attempts to remove his mask, and just before his face is visible to us , we...

5.

EXT. COURT . DAY

Simultaneously, the man whose back to us , removes his mask, a white mask, it falls, colliding on the ground. As we arrive closer the familiar white mask, he opens his fist to unleash a key, that drops near the mask. He then falls on his knees.

CUT TO:

Opposite side. The man is in front of us , kneeling for his final judgment, we explore him from toe to head : a badge on a belt, and a gun beneath it, and then his face. A face that adds to a description we know : BURGLAR IN BLACK.

His face looks desperate, a tired face, he faces a door , we hear people swarming and getting closer to the door. He readies himself and takes a final look at his friend’s body.

We move backward from BURGLAR IN BLACK’s right side , as we see the door opened in the background , we reach the HOUSE OWNER’S body, suddenly, his hand moves and...

BLACK SCREEN.

6.