| SCENE ONE: BEAUCHEMINS' HOUSE |
| SOUND: |
(OFF) RUNNING TAP WATER; EVELYN SPLASHING HER FACE. CONTINUES UNDER: |
| SOUND: |
PHONE RINGING. |
| MICHEL: |
Hello? |
| MAROWITZ: |
(FILTERED) Michel Beauchemin? |
| MICHEL: |
Yes. |
| MAROWITZ: |
The Michel Beauchemin who is about to be honoured with the Berman Medal - |
| MICHEL: |
Who is this? |
| MAROWITZ: |
- in recognition of his "lifelong commitment to human rights"? |
| MICHEL: |
(EDGY) Who's speaking? |
| EVELYN: |
(OFF) Michel? Who is it? |
|
MICHEL: |
Do I know you? |
| MAROWITZ: |
This is your past calling. This is your past, catching up with you. |
| MICHEL: |
What are you talking about? |
| EVELYN: |
(OFF) Michel? |
| MAROWITZ: |
Farber. |
| EVELYN: |
(OFF) Michel? |
| MAROWITZ: |
Aaron Farber. |
| SOUND: |
(OFF) EVELYN TURNS TAP OFF. STANDS IN BATHROOM DOORWAY. |
| EVELYN: |
(LOUD WHISPER) Who are you talking to? |
| MAROWITZ: |
You remember Aaron Farber. |
| MICHEL: |
(TO EVELYN) An acquaintance. |
| EVELYN: |
At this hour? |
| MAROWITZ: |
I know what you did. (BEAT) I know where you were. |
| MICHEL: |
Yes. |
| MAROWITZ: |
Hell will freeze over before you get the Berman medal. |
| MICHEL: |
(BLUFFING) Thank you. |
| MAROWITZ: |
Good evening, Monsieur Beauchemin. |
| SOUND: |
MAROWITZ HANGS UP. A MOMENT'S PAUSE, THEN MICHEL HANGS UP. |
| EVELYN: |
They couldn't have waited 'til tomorrow morning? |
| MICHEL: |
(FAKING IT) He's new. You know what they're like, the young ones. |
| EVELYN: |
You were never like that when you were young. |
| MICHEL: |
The rules have changed. |
| EVELYN: |
How did he know you weren't sleeping? |
| MICHEL: |
I'll see he doesn't do it again. |
SCENE TWO: CANADIAN JEWISH COUNCIL |
| SOUND: |
THE CLICK OF A BUTTON, THE WHIR OF A SLIDE PROJECTOR. CONTINUES UNDER: |
|
PHIL: |
This is a nice one. I think this is Africa. (BEAT) Is this Africa? |
| LYNN: |
It's too early to quiz me. |
| PHIL: |
The ceremony's in less than a week. We've got to plough through five hundred slides. Then we argue over which fifty we like best. (BEAT) Drink your coffee. |
| LYNN: |
I thought being president meant I'd never have to do this kind of work. |
| PHIL: |
Being president means having final approval. (BEAT) What did he do in Africa? |
| LYNN: |
River blindness. |
| PHIL: |
River blindness is good. And it's a good picture. Beauchemin looks ever-so-modest. The kids look ever-so-grateful. They'll love it. |
| LYNN: |
It's too early for cynicism. |
| PHIL: |
Me? A cynic? |
| LYNN: |
He's done some terrific work. (BEAT) Can I tell you a secret? |
| PHIL: |
Yes. |
| LYNN: |
Promise not to tell? |
| PHIL: |
No. |
| LYNN: |
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a Michel Beauchemin when I grew up. |
| PHIL: |
You wouldn't look good in a moustache. |
| LYNN: |
I'm serious. He was Albert Schweitzer and Raoul Wallenberg and Gregory Peck all rolled into one. |
| PHIL: |
Gregory Peck? |
| LYNN: |
To Kill a Mockingbird. (BEAT) Such dignity. |
| PHIL: |
Gregory Peck isn't getting the medal. Next slide. |
| SOUND: |
CLICK OF BUTTON, WHIR OF SLIDE MACHINE. |
| LYNN: |
Where's this? |
| PHIL: |
If I'm not mistaken, this is deep in the jungles of Ottawa. |
| LYNN: |
Ottawa? |
| PHIL: |
A book drive. They collect used books, then send them overseas. To help boost literacy rates. That kind of thing. |
| LYNN: |
Boring. |
| PHIL: |
Literacy is not boring. |
| LYNN: |
The slide. It's boring. We're not going to stage a black tie ceremony and show a picture of Beauchemin holding a box of books. It's not... |
| PHIL: |
Sexy? |
| LYNN: |
Flattering. We want to flatter the man. (BEAT) He deserves to be flattered. |
SCENE THREE: BEAUCHEMINS' HOUSE |
| SOUND: |
BREAKFAST BACKDROP: MORNING RADIO SHOW, TOASTER POPPING. |
| SOUND: |
KNIFE SPREADING BUTTER ON TOAST. |
| EVELYN: |
(APPROACHING) The acquaintance who called last night, what did he tell you? |
| SOUND: |
PLATES PLACED ON TABLE, COFFEE POURED. |
| MICHEL: |
He's not an acquaintance. Strictly speaking. |
| EVELYN: |
A colleague? |
| MICHEL: |
I told you. He's...he's new at External Affairs. Wet behind the ears. You know what they're like. So eager. So many questions. |
| EVELYN: |
(CONCERNED) What did he ask you? |
| MICHEL: |
I won't bore you with the dry details. Pass the marmalade, please. |
| EVELYN: |
You were up all night. |
| MICHEL: |
Did you buy this at the market? The marmalade? |
| EVELYN: |
He said something. Something that bothered you. You didn't stop tossing and turning. I could practically hear your anxiety every time you breathed. (BEAT) What's troubling you, Michel? |
| MICHEL: |
(PAUSE) You really want to know. |
| EVELYN: |
I really want to know. |
| MICHEL: |
My speech. For the Berman Medal. I have only three days to finish it. I have finished it. But it feels...incomplete. I've started to rewrite it. In my head. That's what I was doing last night, in bed. Rewriting my speech. That's what I have to do today. I have to collect all the changes that have been swimming in my head and put them down on paper. I want the speech to be just right. To be perfect. (BEAT) It's an important award, you know. |
| EVELYN: |
(PROUDLY) I know. |
| MICHEL: |
I have to strike the right note. |
| SOUND: |
EVELYN KISSES MICHEL'S HAND. |
| EVELYN: |
Sweetheart, don't worry. It's - |
| MICHEL: |
It's only one of the most important honours a diplomat could hope for. |
| EVELYN: |
You have a shelf full of awards. A wall full of pictures. Michel shaking hands with the president. Michel standing next to the pope. There'll be more to come, I assure you. More prizes. More pictures. This is one more feather in the distinguished cap of Michel Beauchemin. |
| MICHEL: |
It's a big feather. |
| EVELYN: |
You looked exhausted, sweetheart. Why don't you go back to bed and get some sleep? |
| MICHEL: |
No. I have a speech to write. To rewrite. (BEAT) A speech to perfect. |
SCENE FOUR: CANADIAN JEWISH COUNCIL |
| SOUND: |
THE CLICK OF A BUTTON, THE WHIR OF A SLIDE PROJECTOR. CONTINUES UNDER: |
| LYNN: |
I like that one. |
| PHIL: |
I don't know. Beauchemin on a teeter-totter? |
| LYNN: |
Look at the kid's face. You can eat it up. (BEAT) Where was this one taken? |
| PHIL: |
Israel. |
| LYNN: |
I thought so. |
| PHIL: |
Playgrounds for Peace. And they shall beat their swords into swings. That kind of thing. Another attempt at promoting peace between Arabs and Israelis. |
| LYNN: |
Let's end with it. It's a nice way to wrap up the show. |
| SOUND: |
PHONE RINGING. BUTTON CLICKED. |
| LYNN: |
Yes? |
| RECEPTIONIST: |
(SPEAKER PHONE) Henry Marowitz to see you. |
| LYNN: |
Oh, God. |
| PHIL: |
Tell him we're busy. |
| RECEPTIONIST: |
He says it's urgent. |
| LYNN: |
Henry thinks everything is urgent. (BEAT) Send him in. (TO PHIL) The last thing I need is Henry foaming at the mouth. |
| PHIL: |
His bark is worse than his bite. |
| LYNN: |
I don't like his bark. |
| SOUND: |
DOOR OPENS, CLOSES. |
| LYNN/PHIL: |
Henry... |
| MAROWITZ: |
Phil. Lynn. Am I interrupting some - |
| PHIL: |
Yes. |
| MAROWITZ: |
This is worth an interruption. (BEAT) Ah, will you look at that. This year's Berman Medal winner, sitting pretty on a see-saw. It's enough to make you weep. |
| LYNN: |
What can we do for you, Henry? |
| MAROWITZ: |
Me? I don't want anything. But the Canadian Jewish Council can do itself a big favour and forget about the medal. Cancel the ceremony. Do whatever you have to do, but don't let Michel Beauchemin near you. Or your hands will be stained with blood, too. |
| PHIL: |
Stained with blood? |
| MAROWITZ: |
Jewish blood. |
| LYNN: |
Of course. |
| MAROWITZ: |
The blood of Aaron Farber. |
| LYNN: |
Who? |
| MAROWITZ: |
Tell me, Phil. How did someone with such an appalling ignorance of history end up council president? |
| PHIL: |
It's called an election. |
| LYNN: |
If you came here to insult - |
| MAROWITZ: |
I came here to illuminate. |
| LYNN: |
Well then illuminate. |
| MAROWITZ: |
As you know, I'm organizing a new exhibition at the institute. |
| LYNN: |
I didn't know. |
| MAROWITZ: |
Well, you should. It's sponsored by the Gilman Foundation. |
| PHIL: |
Congratulations. |
| MAROWITZ: |
The Face of Fascism: Quebec in the 30s and 40s. |
| LYNN: |
Fascism? |
| PHIL: |
Interesting title. |
| LYNN: |
More inflammatory than interesting, but we've come to expect as much from Henry. |
| MAROWITZ: |
Nineteen thirty-three, Le Devoir: "When Hitler attacks the Jew, he attacks the most formidable power of deceit in the world: because the Jews not only control the newspapers in all the important cities in the world, but also many press agencies which are like the arteries of information." Nineteen thirty-four. Interns at five French Montreal hospitals stage a strike when a Jewish colleague is hired. Nineteen thirty-five, Le Devoir: "Jews seem to dominate certain Montreal neighbourhoods. If the truth be told, their apparent dominance is due more to the brazen criminality of a minority than to the size of their population." |
| LYNN: |
You and Mordecai Richler, both. Quebec didn't have a monopoly on anti-semitism, Henry. |
| PHIL: |
What does this have to do with Beauchemin? |
| MAROWITZ: |
You want a picture for your slide show? Try this one on for size. I found it doing research at The Gazette for the exhibition. Dug it up in the archives. Not your average crowd scene. |
| | A BRIEF PAUSE AS LYNN AND PHIL PONDER THE PHOTOGRAPH. |
| LYNN: |
What does this have to do with Beauchemin? |
| MAROWITZ: |
Lok at the left side of the picture. Bottom corner. Third man in. |
| PHIL: |
Beauchemin? |
| MAROWITZ: |
Beauchemin. |
| LYNN: |
Where was this taken? |
| MAROWITZ: |
Montreal. Nineteen-thirty nine. A group of right-wing extremists take to the streets. Saint Lawrence boulevard, to be precise. They start tossing stones at Jewish shops. Aaron Farber, 64, steps out of his tailor shop and tries to plead with the crowd. He's attacked. That's Farber in the middle of the picture. The bloody lump on the ground. A..stone's throw away from Beauchemin. The next day Farber dies in hospital. Almost sixty years later, Michel Beauchemin is given a medal honouring his life's work. |
| LYNN: |
I knew about the incident. I didn't know his name was Farber. |
| PHIL: |
Does Beauchemin know? |
| MAROWITZ: |
Of course he knows. He was there. |
| PHIL: |
The picture. Does he know about the picture? |
| MAROWITZ: |
I sent it by courier first thing this morning. It should be in his blood-stained hands by now. So, are you going to write the press release, or shall I? |
| LYNN: |
This is the council's concern, Henry. Not yours. |
|
MAROWITZ: |
Wrongo, Mrs. President. There is not a chance in hell you are giving a medal to that Nazi. |
| LYNN: |
Tank you for bringing the matter to our attention, Henry. |
| MAROWITZ: |
You're not gonna let her railroad you, are you Phil? |
|
LYNN: |
Phil was just about to see you to the door. Weren't you, Phil? (BEAT) Phil? |
| PHIL: |
(PAUSE) Yes. (BEAT) Yes, I was. |
