A gray-hair, elderly man is looking at a picture of a younger man. He is
alone and quiet, but his voice soon reaches out into the dark depths of the
dreary room, accompanied by a guitar.
Man, singing: It's not time to make a change, just relax, take it easy.
You're still young, that's your fault.
There's so much you have to know.
Find a girl, settle down.
If you want to you can marry.
Look at me, I am old but I'm happy.
As the song fades, a younger male voice begins to speak.
"I left behind everything familiar this morning. I boarded a train with the intentions of living among the Bohemians of Monmartre, a small section of Paris, France."
The older man sings again: I was once like you are now.
And I know that it's not easy to be calm when you've found something going on.
But take your time, think a lot.
Why, think of everything you've got,
For you will still be here tomorrow but your dreams may not.
The older voice fades away as the younger one begins to sing:
How can I try to explain, 'cause when I do he turns away again.
It's always been the same, same old story.
From the moment I could talk, I was ordered to listen.
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.
Music plays in the background as the young man speaks.
"I was destined to be the president of my father's company, but the world around me was changing, and I wanted to change with it. I dreamed of writing about truth, beauty, freedom, and love. On the evening of my father's retirement, I told him I was leaving for France."
(Flashback of father looking at his son with an concerned face.)
Father: It's not time to make a change.
Just sit down, take it slowly.
You're still young, that's your fault. There's so much you have to go through.
Find a girl, settle down. If you want, you can marry.
Look at me, I am old but I'm happy.
While the father sang his part, the son was singing his.
Son: Away, away, away.
I know I have to make this decision alone—no.
The older man looked at his son with a stern look, "Think of everything here, Christian! You don't want to go and live in Monmartre! It is a true village of sin!"
The son began to sing again: All the times that I've cried, keeping all the things I knew inside.
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it.
If they were right I'd agree.
But it's them they know, not me.
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.
While his son sang, so did the father: Stay, stay, stay.
Why must you go and make this decision alone?
"In my heart, I felt that I was right. This was my decision. I had to leave if I wanted to face the world. My future depended on it. Sure, I knew my father wouldn't be happy, but he'd understand my feelings. After all, he was once my age. I can still remember him telling me, 'Christian, you need to get out into the world and experience things for how they really are.' I looked up to this man, and expected that I would be just like him. But when he told me that I was to inherit his business, I told him that I wanted something else. How was I to know that my lot in life was to bend to the will of my superiors?"
Song Used: "Father & Son" by Cat Stevens
Author's Note: This first chapter of this story is based on the director's commentary that you can play during the DVD and also from reading the rough drafts of the scripts which are also available on the DVD. All the credit goes to the writers of the script, all I did was add on to it. Please, no flames! Spare me!
Man, singing: It's not time to make a change, just relax, take it easy.
You're still young, that's your fault.
There's so much you have to know.
Find a girl, settle down.
If you want to you can marry.
Look at me, I am old but I'm happy.
As the song fades, a younger male voice begins to speak.
"I left behind everything familiar this morning. I boarded a train with the intentions of living among the Bohemians of Monmartre, a small section of Paris, France."
The older man sings again: I was once like you are now.
And I know that it's not easy to be calm when you've found something going on.
But take your time, think a lot.
Why, think of everything you've got,
For you will still be here tomorrow but your dreams may not.
The older voice fades away as the younger one begins to sing:
How can I try to explain, 'cause when I do he turns away again.
It's always been the same, same old story.
From the moment I could talk, I was ordered to listen.
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.
Music plays in the background as the young man speaks.
"I was destined to be the president of my father's company, but the world around me was changing, and I wanted to change with it. I dreamed of writing about truth, beauty, freedom, and love. On the evening of my father's retirement, I told him I was leaving for France."
(Flashback of father looking at his son with an concerned face.)
Father: It's not time to make a change.
Just sit down, take it slowly.
You're still young, that's your fault. There's so much you have to go through.
Find a girl, settle down. If you want, you can marry.
Look at me, I am old but I'm happy.
While the father sang his part, the son was singing his.
Son: Away, away, away.
I know I have to make this decision alone—no.
The older man looked at his son with a stern look, "Think of everything here, Christian! You don't want to go and live in Monmartre! It is a true village of sin!"
The son began to sing again: All the times that I've cried, keeping all the things I knew inside.
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it.
If they were right I'd agree.
But it's them they know, not me.
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.
While his son sang, so did the father: Stay, stay, stay.
Why must you go and make this decision alone?
"In my heart, I felt that I was right. This was my decision. I had to leave if I wanted to face the world. My future depended on it. Sure, I knew my father wouldn't be happy, but he'd understand my feelings. After all, he was once my age. I can still remember him telling me, 'Christian, you need to get out into the world and experience things for how they really are.' I looked up to this man, and expected that I would be just like him. But when he told me that I was to inherit his business, I told him that I wanted something else. How was I to know that my lot in life was to bend to the will of my superiors?"
Song Used: "Father & Son" by Cat Stevens
Author's Note: This first chapter of this story is based on the director's commentary that you can play during the DVD and also from reading the rough drafts of the scripts which are also available on the DVD. All the credit goes to the writers of the script, all I did was add on to it. Please, no flames! Spare me!