Juno of Taris
"On Taris, we shave our heads. No. That's wrong. On Taris, we have our heads shaven for us.‟ (11)
"When I ask how growing our hair would endanger our survival, people turn away from me. It's called
withdrawing.‟ (11)
“It's a waste of energy thinking about Outside.” (12)
“Juno‟s different and different isn‟t good. It divides us.” “She‟s always trying to change things” (25)
“It's not easy to be a child of Taris.” (31)
"I hated conformity and I hated compliance.‟ (47)
“Thought before action.” (57)
“I's dangerous, Grif... isn't one enough?” “Ignorance is dangerous” (65)
"That girl must die.‟ (98) “Bitch goddess, this is all your fault!” (332)
“___, dark and tall, would be more likely to slash at your certainties with a razor sharp observation.” (112)
“I‟ve never felt free to be me” (139)
“How we cope is to keep to the accepted ways.” “Messy emotions have no place on Taris.” (164)
“I‟m going to push a few boundaries.” “I'm going to grow my hair” (168)
“She looked troubled rather than angry.” (176)
“Our advice is to trust Juno.” “The best way to be strong is to be united.” (185)
“Control the communication and you control the people.” (189)
“The no-hair rule isn't about survival, it's about control.” (198)
“I think he‟s the one to be scared of.” (206)
“All I'd wanted was hair. It had split my family.” (218)
“It's time to take our lives into our own hands.” (235)
“What I am about to tell you will rip apart the beliefs many of you have held all your lives.” (243)
“She had guts, that woman. She pulled us back from death.” (257)
“Our long history – all 200 years of it – is a myth.” (307)
“The Taris Project gave people hope ... it represented hope to a doomed world.” (307)
“The values we‟ve believed in until now are as false as our history.” (326)
“Because of foolishness, pride and vanity, we nearly caused our island to die, and us with it.”
"His hateful eyes drilled into me.‟ "On Taris, nothing was secret.‟
“Suppress the history, suppress the truth: control the people”
“We need to be the same. It stops competition and therefore division.”
"When I ask how growing our hair would endanger our survival, people turn away from me. It's called
withdrawing.‟ (11)
“It's a waste of energy thinking about Outside.” (12)
“Juno‟s different and different isn‟t good. It divides us.” “She‟s always trying to change things” (25)
“It's not easy to be a child of Taris.” (31)
"I hated conformity and I hated compliance.‟ (47)
“Thought before action.” (57)
“I's dangerous, Grif... isn't one enough?” “Ignorance is dangerous” (65)
"That girl must die.‟ (98) “Bitch goddess, this is all your fault!” (332)
“___, dark and tall, would be more likely to slash at your certainties with a razor sharp observation.” (112)
“I‟ve never felt free to be me” (139)
“How we cope is to keep to the accepted ways.” “Messy emotions have no place on Taris.” (164)
“I‟m going to push a few boundaries.” “I'm going to grow my hair” (168)
“She looked troubled rather than angry.” (176)
“Our advice is to trust Juno.” “The best way to be strong is to be united.” (185)
“Control the communication and you control the people.” (189)
“The no-hair rule isn't about survival, it's about control.” (198)
“I think he‟s the one to be scared of.” (206)
“All I'd wanted was hair. It had split my family.” (218)
“It's time to take our lives into our own hands.” (235)
“What I am about to tell you will rip apart the beliefs many of you have held all your lives.” (243)
“She had guts, that woman. She pulled us back from death.” (257)
“Our long history – all 200 years of it – is a myth.” (307)
“The Taris Project gave people hope ... it represented hope to a doomed world.” (307)
“The values we‟ve believed in until now are as false as our history.” (326)
“Because of foolishness, pride and vanity, we nearly caused our island to die, and us with it.”
"His hateful eyes drilled into me.‟ "On Taris, nothing was secret.‟
“Suppress the history, suppress the truth: control the people”
“We need to be the same. It stops competition and therefore division.”
The Giver
Prologue words - From the ashes of The Ruin, the Communities were built. Protected by the boundary. All memories of the past are erased.
Jonas's voiceover - After The Ruin, we started all over. Creating a new society. One of true equality. Rules were the building blocks of that equality. We learned them as Newchildren. Rules like... Use precise language. Wear your assigned clothing. Take your daily injections.
("Injected!")
Jona's voiceover - Obey the curfew. Never lie.
Jona's voiceover - My name is Jonas. I don't have a last name. None of us did. That day, the day before graduation, I admit it, I was scared. Tomorrow we would be assigned our jobs, our purpose. It seemed that everybody knew theirs already. (pauses) Not me. I was lost. I always felt that I saw things...
(Trees moving in fast series of cuts with full color)
Jona's voiceover - ... differently. I saw things that other people didn't.
(pauses)
Jona's voiceover - I never said anything. I didn't want to be different. Who would?
Jonas's voiceover - Asher was the boy who made everyone laugh, Fiona, well, she was the girl who made everyone smile.
Asher - Whoever's listening, please please please don't make me vice chef(?) of police management! Please!
Jonas's voiceover - We lived in a world where differences were not allowed. There was no "popular", no fame, no losers and no winners. The Elders have eliminated that so that there would be no conflict between us. Fear, pain, envy, hate; they weren't words so much as sounds. Their echoes were gone to the other side of history.
(Uprising music continues to play while Jonas pauses his voiceover)
Jonas's voiceover - I'm asked if I was to apologize for what I did. I'll let you decide.Chief Elder - (Hologram turns on) Good morning community!
The whole audience - Good morning Chief Elder!
Chief Elder - I apologize for my remote attendance.
The whole audience - We accept your apology!
Chief Elder - I can't be at every ceremony, in person. But here's a secret. You are my favorite community.
(panning shot focusing at Fiona)
Chief Elder - However, because we do not lie, I readily admit it to every community.
The whole audience - (laughs)
Chief Elder - Beginnings. From disorder and chaos, from great suffering, great pain. From confusion and envy and hatred came a solution - communities. Serene, beautiful places, where disorder became harmony.
(Clapping to the lap from the audience)
Chief Elder - (Laughs a bit) we'll get through it! Oh, fine. It begins, the ceremony. The ceremony of Release to Elsewhere. Honouring the elderly citizens who have devoted their work to the beauty and harmony of our beloved community and are now ready for joyous retirement to Elsewhere. Celebrating the Newchildren, proudly engineered by our redeemed geneticists.
The whole audience - Abigail.
Chief Elder - Produced by our honored Birthmothers. These infants will be joining our assigned family units.
(continued clapping)
Chief Elder - reaching their half-way mark towards graduation, our Nines today will receive their symbol of their developing independence and responsibility.
(Shows a bicycle, then yet more clapping)
Chief Elder - celebrating the graduates, who will be assigned their positions in our community.
Fiona - (whispers to Jonas) Good luck!
Jonas - (whispers to Fiona) You too!
Chief Elder- all your training has been... to help you fit in, to curb any impulse that may set you apart from others, but today, we honor your differences. For they have determined your future. Here are our leaders, the teachers, and the workers and Birthmothers of tomorrow. And I think that we'd be in very good hands. No. 1, Madeline, Birthmother. Thank you for your childhood. No. 2, Ross, Instructor of the Middles. Thank you for your childhood.
(Fades quickly)
Chief Elder - No. 51, Asher. Unruly, careless, sometimes those in most need of responsibility, learn best by being the practicians of it. Drone pilot. Thank you for your childhood.
(Few more claps)
Asher - you can keep it! (the whole audience laughs) Thanks!
Chief Elder - No. 53, Ianda, recreation leader. Thank you for your childhood. No. 54, Caffy...
Lily - (Looking at Jonas's father and talking quietly while Chief Elder continues her speech) They skipped Jonas.
Chief Elder - Thank you for your childhood. (skips the numbers from No. 54 to 78) No. 78, Loyd, geneticist.
(Continues to talk through more variety of different occupations and numbers with continuous fast fades)
Chief Elder - No. 104, Fiona. From the beginning it was clear that Fiona flourished working with Newchildren. Fiona, Nurturer. Thank you for your childhood. No. 105, Luchia, Instructor of the Twelves.
(Continues to talk through more variety of different occupations and numbers with continuous fast fades)
Chief Elder - No. 150, Pierre, Bromsky. (?) Thank you for your childhood.
(Accent-beated, uncertain-feeling music)
Chief Elder - (Hologram turns off and turns on again) You feel like I made a mistake. I apologize to my community.
The whole audience - We accept your apology.
Chief Elder - No. 52, please step forward.
(Jonas walks in)
Chief Elder - Jonas has not been assigned a position. He has been selected; we were not hasty this time, we could not afford another failure.
(The Giver stares at the center of the screen from the right)
Chief Elder - Jonas possesses all four attributes - intelligence, integrity, courage, and what I can name but not I cannot describe, the capacity to see beyond. But I must warn you that your training involves pain. Pain far beyond what we know of. (Whispers to him) Are you strong enough? (to the audience) Do we think that Jonas is brave enough?
(Long-lasting powerful claps)
Chief Elder - Jonas, you have been selected as our next Receiver of Memory. Thank you for your childhood. Jonas...
The whole audience - (Repeats saying "Jonas" 39 times)(Jonas swipes his finger over his training instructions triangle-shaped object, making an electronic sound)
The Giver's orders - Receiver of Memory. Five rules. One. Report directly to the Receiver of Memory for your training. After training, return to your dwelling immediately. Two. From this moment on, you are exempt from all rules governing erudeness (?). You may ask any question. Three. Besides from your daily injections, you may not receive any other medicines, especially those for pain.
("Injected! S752!")
The Giver's orders - Four. You may not discuss your training with anyone. Ever.
...
The Giver's orders - Five. You may lie.
(Jonas looks at Fiona and quickly bikes fast to The Giver's house)
Jonas's voiceover - Asher and I used to dare each other to go to this place. It was built, right on the edge. We've all heard of people getting lost to the edge, never to be seen again. And yet, here I was. Being told that I have to get close to it every day. For the rest of my life.
(Moving establishing shots of The Giver's house, then a high-angle long shot with The Giver's house and Jonas on the right side. Jonas parks his bicycle and then walks to that house. A low-angle shot follows his movement.)
Jonas - (Tries to open the doorknob)
("Welcome.")
Jonas - Umm... Hi. I'm Jonas.
("Please stand and stare at the sensor". Jonas stares at the sensor, the sensor examines his eye and the door opens. ("Welcome Receiver of Memory.")
(The door opens and he slowly walks in as he looked inside of the things around him, then he is at a setting of a library, which is The Giver's living space.)
(The Giver looks up at Jonas)
The Giver - They're called books. Your books.
Jonas - Uh, my name is...
The Giver - I know who you are.
Jonas - Of course, I apologise. (Tracking camera, pointing in direction of The Giver) Umm... I apologise?
The Giver - (Quieter) Don't say that, "I apologise." Don't ever apologise to me, ever again. Not here. You haven't a time. (?) "I apologise." It's an automatic pleasantry. Doesn't mean anything.
Jonas - I apologise, I'm sorry. I mean... (Nothing from his mouth)
The Giver - You are here for only one purpose. Simply stated, but it isn't simple at all, I will transmit all the memories I hold within me. Memories of the past. (Pushes his chair over closer to the middle of the window)
Jonas - I'd be very interested to learn about your life.
The Giver - No no, nonsense. Not my life. You will learn the secret history of the world! Before me before you, generations and generations back and back and back and back. And things were different when there was more.
Jonas - More?
The Giver - (Wiggles his finger as well as pointing it in the direction of the opposite chair) The... Chair... You see that our community does not have any memory of the past. Only me. When the Elders need guidance and if they also need experience, I provide the wisdom. (?) That is now your role. To provide guidance of the present using memories of the past. Move closer. (Slurps his glass of water and gently places his glass back to the floor.)
(Jonas moves his chair closer to him while he was sitting on that chair)
The Giver - Closer.
(Jonas moves his chair even closer to him while he was sitting on that chair)
The Giver - (Pulls Jonas's chair extremely close to The Giver's chair. Then a quick zoom to The Giver's face)There is no way for me to prepare you for what I am going to do now. You can take comfort in knowing that you are completely helpless. (Holds Jonas's wrists, then various close-ups of The Giver and Jonas's faces.) If any of this proves too much for you, tell me immediately.
Jonas - It is just... (The Giver places his hands onto Jonas, Jonas and The Giver both close their eyes at the same time)
(A setting of a snowy forest in Jonas's memory)(Uneasy music)
(Buzzing sound of a wasp)
Jonas - Ow! That's the pain they all talk about!
The Giver - No, not even close. Did you...
Jonas - It had a face! Wait, was that, umm... alive?
The Giver - Don't skip ahead, did you notice anything about it?
Jonas - Yes, it hurt.
The Giver - No, only quality.
Jonas - Well, maybe. (pauses) I think I saw it in my friend Fiona's hair.
The Giver - My first was yellow. If you thought the sled was special.
(Peaceful music with Jonas standing on a yacht staring at all the colorful sunset)
(Jonas is out of the memory and stares at all the new colors he sees)
Jonas - Woah! It's... red! Just like her hair.
The Giver - Yes. There's red, green, blue, many different colors! You'll see them all in time. But when our people chose, they chose to do without all of them. Color, race, religion; they created sameness. If we were different, we could be envious, angry, resentful. Consumed with hatred. We need sameness. Don't you think?
Jonas - Oh I completely agree. But still, it's all so, beautiful.
Jonas's voiceover - They always said that Elsewhere was so far away. But it wasn't. In was right there. Close enough to touch.
The Giver - You have already covered seeing beyond, there is also such a thing as hearing beyond.
Jonas - A table? All the legs that can slide on the floor.
The Giver - Now, don't judge me. I am not very good, although I had a very good teacher. (sighs to himself)
(Plays the piano)
The Giver - Music. (Makes a minor discord) Well, music when you hit the right keys.
(Continues to play the piano while Jonas gets fascinated at how the piano works.)
The Giver - Just like music, there's something else that you can't see with your eyes. Something, that is inside you. Something the morning injections take away.
Jonas - I thought the morning injections were for our health.
The Giver - No, they remove something.
Jonas - What?
The Giver - Emotions!
Jonas - You mean like feelings?
The Giver - Feelings are just meaning, on the surface. But emotions, they are very deep, primal, and linger. Jonas, you might not understand where you are or what's happening, but don't think what you are seeing. Listen! Listen to what's calling you inside. (Holds Jonas hand to pass on a memory)
(At a Spanish-themed wedding, with violins, accordions, tambourines and Spanish-style clothing. Musical wedding includes clapping in the beats with the wedding too, expressing the joy. Included many various people of different ages.)
Jonas - (Wakes up from the memory) Why would anyone want to get rid of this?
The Giver - Good question.
(Next scene)Jonas's voiceover - We've been told that the Chief Elder knew everything. Things nobody else did. (Jonas playing the didgeridoo) But I have learned that knowing what something is, is not the same as knowing what it feels.
The Giver - And you could be the very best, last one at the top of the mountain, gasping for air and having survived and being alone.
(fast fade)
The Giver - Be curious.
Jonas's voiceover - I got lost. The good kind of lost. I saw science and sounds. I could not have the words to describe. Faces would flash of all different colors. I felt so alive. This was forbidden? I didn't know what to think to believe. Have faith, The Giver told me. He said that faith, that was seeing beyond. He compared it to the wind. Something felt but not seen.
The Giver - Don't accept what is the truth just because it came from someone you respect.
Jonas - I feel completely stupid with that weird feeling in your hands.
The Giver - Memories are not just about the past, but they can determine our future. You can change things. You can make things better.
Jonas's voiceover - It was life. It just seemed more complete. The more I experienced, the more I wanted.
The Giver - Once, there were other living things. But unlike us, they knew who their mothers and fathers were. They had joy, and they had pain.
The Giver - (Pauses) Now, I can't prepare you for what is going to...
Jonas - There's no need to warn me every single time.
The Giver - (immediately) No Jonas, you don't understand; there was tremendous cruelty.
Jonas - Giver, I am not a kid anymore. Show me.
(Fast violins that express tension while The Giver went surprised)
(Grabs Jonas's hand to pass on the memory, and comes a memory of elephants and hunters)
Evil hunter - It's $250,000 of ivory. Come on. Come on! (Gun shoots an elephant) Got him. (Yet more gun shots to yet more elephants) Again.
Jonas - (Mid-shot of his shocked emotion) No! Stop! (Gun shot) Stop!
(Immediately outside his memory)
Jonas - (Weeps) Stop. Stop.(Jonas stares at all the younger children playing ball games, suddenly cuts to himself reflecting on the looks of war)
(Jonas continued to walk forward)
Asher - Jonas! Come on, you're just in time.
(Another cut to a scene of his memory of war)
Jonas's voiceover - I didn't ever want to go back. I didn't want the wisdom. Didn't want the pain. I wanted my childhood again. Scraped knees and ball games.Back then we played war. But war was real! The Elders understood that. They'd erased it from our world. Maybe they were right.
(Jonas stares at Fiona in a way that appears romantic)
(Jonas's dream of the same Spanish-themed memory, with Jonas going out with Fiona, also having a kiss with her too. Jonas was seen with long hair in that dream. Jonas wakes up from the dream)
Jonas - It was like a memory that Fiona was there.
The Giver - You had a dream.
Jonas - A what?
The Giver - A dream! A combination of reality, fantasy, emotions and what you had for dinner.
Jonas - (Laughs to himself)
The Giver - You stopped taking your daily injections, haven't you?
Jonas - The emotions were so strong, and at the wedding! Everyone all together, laughing and dancing, The Old with The Young, the bride and the groom. There was something there. The difference that we have.
The Giver - Yes, we don't have that anymore.
Jonas - What do you mean by "that"?
The Giver - I'm talking about what you feel for someone else. In your mind, you can't explain it. And you can't make it go away.
Jonas - What is it?
The Giver - Love. It's called love.
Jonas - Love.(Intensely somber music)
Jonas's voiceover - I hadn't been wrong. This was wrong. They haven't eliminated murder - they brought it back home. They just called it by a different name.
(Sad but solemn music)
Jona's voiceover - Father, he didn't know any better. I did.
(Asher stares at Jonas's actions)
(Long shot showing Jonas starting to walk to his bicycle, then mid-shot of Jonas taking his bicycle and riding it)
(He quickly stopped when Asher was in front of him, and he opens his mouth in suprise)
Asher - Jonas, what are you doing? It's against the rules to leave your community this way.
Jonas - Asher, there is something to do that is right but is sort of against the rules.
Asher - It's the right thing.? How can it be against the rules?
Jonas - there are some things that I have learned that you don't know that you can't know not because it's your fault.
Asher - (interrupts between Jonas's dialogue) Jonas, you've got to go back to your family unit.
Jonas - That's the point! That isn't my family and neither is yours. Asher I've got to go please. Get out of my way.
Asher - Jonas! You wouldn't...
(Straight punch at Asher on the ground then Jonas quickly runs off to his bicycle and continues his journey to The Giver's house)
Fiona - I have felt things.
Jonas's mother - (quietly) What?
Fiona - I felt that there is something more...
Jonas's mother - Fiona.
Fiona - Something missing from our lifes. No, not missing. Something that hasbeen stolen from me and from you. I don't know what it is exactly, but Jonas does. I have felt things. And they were warm, and they were nice. They were beautiful. I have felt things. I have felt things. I have felt things.The Giver - You should stop this.
Chief Elder - Stop what? If you don't want to see it, sit with the other Elders. Close your eyes.
(Cuts to Fiona at her Release to Elsewhere room with a Dutch angle shot including her previous surveillance camera footage shown)
("Ceremony of Release to Elsewhere.")
Jonas's father - Come on Fiona. You're uncomfortable?
Fiona - (Stares at her footage of when she was younger) I am not comfortable. I'm afraid.
Jonas's father - There's no need to be afraid. You know me. I will be very gentle. I promise.
The Giver - Her name was Rosemary. She was my daughter. I loved her.
Chief Elder - Precision of language!
The Giver - Ha, ha. Could not be more precise. Do you know what that's like? To love someone? I do.(breathes fast, possibly in stress) I cried. Don't you sorrow? Love, song, dance. Oh, real joy. (?)
Chief Elder - Then you should know better than anyone. You have seen children starve. You have seen people stand on each others' necks. Just for the view. You know what it feels like when men blow each other up.
The Giver - Yes.
Chief Elder - All for a simple lie?
The Giver - I do, I do.
Chief Elder - And yes, and yes. You and Jonas want to... open that door again. Bring all that back?
The Giver - If you could see the possibilities of life.
Chief Elder - Why?
The Giver - Of love. With love comes faith with comes hope!
Chief Elder - Love is just a passion that can turn. And with turn we have contempt and murder.
The Giver - You could choose better.
Chief Elder - (Giggles to herself) People are weak. People are selfish. And if people have the freedom to choose they choose wrong. Every single time.
...
The Giver - We are living in a life of shadows. Of echoes of faint distant whispers of what was once made real!Jonas's voiceover - I wish I had been here when the memories returned. They were the truth. The Elders and their rules are the lies.
(Background changes from the colored community to Jonas starting to stop on his sled)
Jonas's voiceover - So I do not apologize. I knew Fiona is safe, that I would see her again. And then I held the future right in my arms.
(A faint voice of the singing of the carol Silent Night)
Jonas's voiceover - The Giver has let us here, to this house. It was real. (pauses) From far behind me, from the place I had left. I thought I heard music too. Perhaps it was only an echo. But it was enough. It would lead us all home.
Jonas's voiceover - After The Ruin, we started all over. Creating a new society. One of true equality. Rules were the building blocks of that equality. We learned them as Newchildren. Rules like... Use precise language. Wear your assigned clothing. Take your daily injections.
("Injected!")
Jona's voiceover - Obey the curfew. Never lie.
Jona's voiceover - My name is Jonas. I don't have a last name. None of us did. That day, the day before graduation, I admit it, I was scared. Tomorrow we would be assigned our jobs, our purpose. It seemed that everybody knew theirs already. (pauses) Not me. I was lost. I always felt that I saw things...
(Trees moving in fast series of cuts with full color)
Jona's voiceover - ... differently. I saw things that other people didn't.
(pauses)
Jona's voiceover - I never said anything. I didn't want to be different. Who would?
Jonas's voiceover - Asher was the boy who made everyone laugh, Fiona, well, she was the girl who made everyone smile.
Asher - Whoever's listening, please please please don't make me vice chef(?) of police management! Please!
Jonas's voiceover - We lived in a world where differences were not allowed. There was no "popular", no fame, no losers and no winners. The Elders have eliminated that so that there would be no conflict between us. Fear, pain, envy, hate; they weren't words so much as sounds. Their echoes were gone to the other side of history.
(Uprising music continues to play while Jonas pauses his voiceover)
Jonas's voiceover - I'm asked if I was to apologize for what I did. I'll let you decide.Chief Elder - (Hologram turns on) Good morning community!
The whole audience - Good morning Chief Elder!
Chief Elder - I apologize for my remote attendance.
The whole audience - We accept your apology!
Chief Elder - I can't be at every ceremony, in person. But here's a secret. You are my favorite community.
(panning shot focusing at Fiona)
Chief Elder - However, because we do not lie, I readily admit it to every community.
The whole audience - (laughs)
Chief Elder - Beginnings. From disorder and chaos, from great suffering, great pain. From confusion and envy and hatred came a solution - communities. Serene, beautiful places, where disorder became harmony.
(Clapping to the lap from the audience)
Chief Elder - (Laughs a bit) we'll get through it! Oh, fine. It begins, the ceremony. The ceremony of Release to Elsewhere. Honouring the elderly citizens who have devoted their work to the beauty and harmony of our beloved community and are now ready for joyous retirement to Elsewhere. Celebrating the Newchildren, proudly engineered by our redeemed geneticists.
The whole audience - Abigail.
Chief Elder - Produced by our honored Birthmothers. These infants will be joining our assigned family units.
(continued clapping)
Chief Elder - reaching their half-way mark towards graduation, our Nines today will receive their symbol of their developing independence and responsibility.
(Shows a bicycle, then yet more clapping)
Chief Elder - celebrating the graduates, who will be assigned their positions in our community.
Fiona - (whispers to Jonas) Good luck!
Jonas - (whispers to Fiona) You too!
Chief Elder- all your training has been... to help you fit in, to curb any impulse that may set you apart from others, but today, we honor your differences. For they have determined your future. Here are our leaders, the teachers, and the workers and Birthmothers of tomorrow. And I think that we'd be in very good hands. No. 1, Madeline, Birthmother. Thank you for your childhood. No. 2, Ross, Instructor of the Middles. Thank you for your childhood.
(Fades quickly)
Chief Elder - No. 51, Asher. Unruly, careless, sometimes those in most need of responsibility, learn best by being the practicians of it. Drone pilot. Thank you for your childhood.
(Few more claps)
Asher - you can keep it! (the whole audience laughs) Thanks!
Chief Elder - No. 53, Ianda, recreation leader. Thank you for your childhood. No. 54, Caffy...
Lily - (Looking at Jonas's father and talking quietly while Chief Elder continues her speech) They skipped Jonas.
Chief Elder - Thank you for your childhood. (skips the numbers from No. 54 to 78) No. 78, Loyd, geneticist.
(Continues to talk through more variety of different occupations and numbers with continuous fast fades)
Chief Elder - No. 104, Fiona. From the beginning it was clear that Fiona flourished working with Newchildren. Fiona, Nurturer. Thank you for your childhood. No. 105, Luchia, Instructor of the Twelves.
(Continues to talk through more variety of different occupations and numbers with continuous fast fades)
Chief Elder - No. 150, Pierre, Bromsky. (?) Thank you for your childhood.
(Accent-beated, uncertain-feeling music)
Chief Elder - (Hologram turns off and turns on again) You feel like I made a mistake. I apologize to my community.
The whole audience - We accept your apology.
Chief Elder - No. 52, please step forward.
(Jonas walks in)
Chief Elder - Jonas has not been assigned a position. He has been selected; we were not hasty this time, we could not afford another failure.
(The Giver stares at the center of the screen from the right)
Chief Elder - Jonas possesses all four attributes - intelligence, integrity, courage, and what I can name but not I cannot describe, the capacity to see beyond. But I must warn you that your training involves pain. Pain far beyond what we know of. (Whispers to him) Are you strong enough? (to the audience) Do we think that Jonas is brave enough?
(Long-lasting powerful claps)
Chief Elder - Jonas, you have been selected as our next Receiver of Memory. Thank you for your childhood. Jonas...
The whole audience - (Repeats saying "Jonas" 39 times)(Jonas swipes his finger over his training instructions triangle-shaped object, making an electronic sound)
The Giver's orders - Receiver of Memory. Five rules. One. Report directly to the Receiver of Memory for your training. After training, return to your dwelling immediately. Two. From this moment on, you are exempt from all rules governing erudeness (?). You may ask any question. Three. Besides from your daily injections, you may not receive any other medicines, especially those for pain.
("Injected! S752!")
The Giver's orders - Four. You may not discuss your training with anyone. Ever.
...
The Giver's orders - Five. You may lie.
(Jonas looks at Fiona and quickly bikes fast to The Giver's house)
Jonas's voiceover - Asher and I used to dare each other to go to this place. It was built, right on the edge. We've all heard of people getting lost to the edge, never to be seen again. And yet, here I was. Being told that I have to get close to it every day. For the rest of my life.
(Moving establishing shots of The Giver's house, then a high-angle long shot with The Giver's house and Jonas on the right side. Jonas parks his bicycle and then walks to that house. A low-angle shot follows his movement.)
Jonas - (Tries to open the doorknob)
("Welcome.")
Jonas - Umm... Hi. I'm Jonas.
("Please stand and stare at the sensor". Jonas stares at the sensor, the sensor examines his eye and the door opens. ("Welcome Receiver of Memory.")
(The door opens and he slowly walks in as he looked inside of the things around him, then he is at a setting of a library, which is The Giver's living space.)
(The Giver looks up at Jonas)
The Giver - They're called books. Your books.
Jonas - Uh, my name is...
The Giver - I know who you are.
Jonas - Of course, I apologise. (Tracking camera, pointing in direction of The Giver) Umm... I apologise?
The Giver - (Quieter) Don't say that, "I apologise." Don't ever apologise to me, ever again. Not here. You haven't a time. (?) "I apologise." It's an automatic pleasantry. Doesn't mean anything.
Jonas - I apologise, I'm sorry. I mean... (Nothing from his mouth)
The Giver - You are here for only one purpose. Simply stated, but it isn't simple at all, I will transmit all the memories I hold within me. Memories of the past. (Pushes his chair over closer to the middle of the window)
Jonas - I'd be very interested to learn about your life.
The Giver - No no, nonsense. Not my life. You will learn the secret history of the world! Before me before you, generations and generations back and back and back and back. And things were different when there was more.
Jonas - More?
The Giver - (Wiggles his finger as well as pointing it in the direction of the opposite chair) The... Chair... You see that our community does not have any memory of the past. Only me. When the Elders need guidance and if they also need experience, I provide the wisdom. (?) That is now your role. To provide guidance of the present using memories of the past. Move closer. (Slurps his glass of water and gently places his glass back to the floor.)
(Jonas moves his chair closer to him while he was sitting on that chair)
The Giver - Closer.
(Jonas moves his chair even closer to him while he was sitting on that chair)
The Giver - (Pulls Jonas's chair extremely close to The Giver's chair. Then a quick zoom to The Giver's face)There is no way for me to prepare you for what I am going to do now. You can take comfort in knowing that you are completely helpless. (Holds Jonas's wrists, then various close-ups of The Giver and Jonas's faces.) If any of this proves too much for you, tell me immediately.
Jonas - It is just... (The Giver places his hands onto Jonas, Jonas and The Giver both close their eyes at the same time)
(A setting of a snowy forest in Jonas's memory)(Uneasy music)
(Buzzing sound of a wasp)
Jonas - Ow! That's the pain they all talk about!
The Giver - No, not even close. Did you...
Jonas - It had a face! Wait, was that, umm... alive?
The Giver - Don't skip ahead, did you notice anything about it?
Jonas - Yes, it hurt.
The Giver - No, only quality.
Jonas - Well, maybe. (pauses) I think I saw it in my friend Fiona's hair.
The Giver - My first was yellow. If you thought the sled was special.
(Peaceful music with Jonas standing on a yacht staring at all the colorful sunset)
(Jonas is out of the memory and stares at all the new colors he sees)
Jonas - Woah! It's... red! Just like her hair.
The Giver - Yes. There's red, green, blue, many different colors! You'll see them all in time. But when our people chose, they chose to do without all of them. Color, race, religion; they created sameness. If we were different, we could be envious, angry, resentful. Consumed with hatred. We need sameness. Don't you think?
Jonas - Oh I completely agree. But still, it's all so, beautiful.
Jonas's voiceover - They always said that Elsewhere was so far away. But it wasn't. In was right there. Close enough to touch.
The Giver - You have already covered seeing beyond, there is also such a thing as hearing beyond.
Jonas - A table? All the legs that can slide on the floor.
The Giver - Now, don't judge me. I am not very good, although I had a very good teacher. (sighs to himself)
(Plays the piano)
The Giver - Music. (Makes a minor discord) Well, music when you hit the right keys.
(Continues to play the piano while Jonas gets fascinated at how the piano works.)
The Giver - Just like music, there's something else that you can't see with your eyes. Something, that is inside you. Something the morning injections take away.
Jonas - I thought the morning injections were for our health.
The Giver - No, they remove something.
Jonas - What?
The Giver - Emotions!
Jonas - You mean like feelings?
The Giver - Feelings are just meaning, on the surface. But emotions, they are very deep, primal, and linger. Jonas, you might not understand where you are or what's happening, but don't think what you are seeing. Listen! Listen to what's calling you inside. (Holds Jonas hand to pass on a memory)
(At a Spanish-themed wedding, with violins, accordions, tambourines and Spanish-style clothing. Musical wedding includes clapping in the beats with the wedding too, expressing the joy. Included many various people of different ages.)
Jonas - (Wakes up from the memory) Why would anyone want to get rid of this?
The Giver - Good question.
(Next scene)Jonas's voiceover - We've been told that the Chief Elder knew everything. Things nobody else did. (Jonas playing the didgeridoo) But I have learned that knowing what something is, is not the same as knowing what it feels.
The Giver - And you could be the very best, last one at the top of the mountain, gasping for air and having survived and being alone.
(fast fade)
The Giver - Be curious.
Jonas's voiceover - I got lost. The good kind of lost. I saw science and sounds. I could not have the words to describe. Faces would flash of all different colors. I felt so alive. This was forbidden? I didn't know what to think to believe. Have faith, The Giver told me. He said that faith, that was seeing beyond. He compared it to the wind. Something felt but not seen.
The Giver - Don't accept what is the truth just because it came from someone you respect.
Jonas - I feel completely stupid with that weird feeling in your hands.
The Giver - Memories are not just about the past, but they can determine our future. You can change things. You can make things better.
Jonas's voiceover - It was life. It just seemed more complete. The more I experienced, the more I wanted.
The Giver - Once, there were other living things. But unlike us, they knew who their mothers and fathers were. They had joy, and they had pain.
The Giver - (Pauses) Now, I can't prepare you for what is going to...
Jonas - There's no need to warn me every single time.
The Giver - (immediately) No Jonas, you don't understand; there was tremendous cruelty.
Jonas - Giver, I am not a kid anymore. Show me.
(Fast violins that express tension while The Giver went surprised)
(Grabs Jonas's hand to pass on the memory, and comes a memory of elephants and hunters)
Evil hunter - It's $250,000 of ivory. Come on. Come on! (Gun shoots an elephant) Got him. (Yet more gun shots to yet more elephants) Again.
Jonas - (Mid-shot of his shocked emotion) No! Stop! (Gun shot) Stop!
(Immediately outside his memory)
Jonas - (Weeps) Stop. Stop.(Jonas stares at all the younger children playing ball games, suddenly cuts to himself reflecting on the looks of war)
(Jonas continued to walk forward)
Asher - Jonas! Come on, you're just in time.
(Another cut to a scene of his memory of war)
Jonas's voiceover - I didn't ever want to go back. I didn't want the wisdom. Didn't want the pain. I wanted my childhood again. Scraped knees and ball games.Back then we played war. But war was real! The Elders understood that. They'd erased it from our world. Maybe they were right.
(Jonas stares at Fiona in a way that appears romantic)
(Jonas's dream of the same Spanish-themed memory, with Jonas going out with Fiona, also having a kiss with her too. Jonas was seen with long hair in that dream. Jonas wakes up from the dream)
Jonas - It was like a memory that Fiona was there.
The Giver - You had a dream.
Jonas - A what?
The Giver - A dream! A combination of reality, fantasy, emotions and what you had for dinner.
Jonas - (Laughs to himself)
The Giver - You stopped taking your daily injections, haven't you?
Jonas - The emotions were so strong, and at the wedding! Everyone all together, laughing and dancing, The Old with The Young, the bride and the groom. There was something there. The difference that we have.
The Giver - Yes, we don't have that anymore.
Jonas - What do you mean by "that"?
The Giver - I'm talking about what you feel for someone else. In your mind, you can't explain it. And you can't make it go away.
Jonas - What is it?
The Giver - Love. It's called love.
Jonas - Love.(Intensely somber music)
Jonas's voiceover - I hadn't been wrong. This was wrong. They haven't eliminated murder - they brought it back home. They just called it by a different name.
(Sad but solemn music)
Jona's voiceover - Father, he didn't know any better. I did.
(Asher stares at Jonas's actions)
(Long shot showing Jonas starting to walk to his bicycle, then mid-shot of Jonas taking his bicycle and riding it)
(He quickly stopped when Asher was in front of him, and he opens his mouth in suprise)
Asher - Jonas, what are you doing? It's against the rules to leave your community this way.
Jonas - Asher, there is something to do that is right but is sort of against the rules.
Asher - It's the right thing.? How can it be against the rules?
Jonas - there are some things that I have learned that you don't know that you can't know not because it's your fault.
Asher - (interrupts between Jonas's dialogue) Jonas, you've got to go back to your family unit.
Jonas - That's the point! That isn't my family and neither is yours. Asher I've got to go please. Get out of my way.
Asher - Jonas! You wouldn't...
(Straight punch at Asher on the ground then Jonas quickly runs off to his bicycle and continues his journey to The Giver's house)
Fiona - I have felt things.
Jonas's mother - (quietly) What?
Fiona - I felt that there is something more...
Jonas's mother - Fiona.
Fiona - Something missing from our lifes. No, not missing. Something that hasbeen stolen from me and from you. I don't know what it is exactly, but Jonas does. I have felt things. And they were warm, and they were nice. They were beautiful. I have felt things. I have felt things. I have felt things.The Giver - You should stop this.
Chief Elder - Stop what? If you don't want to see it, sit with the other Elders. Close your eyes.
(Cuts to Fiona at her Release to Elsewhere room with a Dutch angle shot including her previous surveillance camera footage shown)
("Ceremony of Release to Elsewhere.")
Jonas's father - Come on Fiona. You're uncomfortable?
Fiona - (Stares at her footage of when she was younger) I am not comfortable. I'm afraid.
Jonas's father - There's no need to be afraid. You know me. I will be very gentle. I promise.
The Giver - Her name was Rosemary. She was my daughter. I loved her.
Chief Elder - Precision of language!
The Giver - Ha, ha. Could not be more precise. Do you know what that's like? To love someone? I do.(breathes fast, possibly in stress) I cried. Don't you sorrow? Love, song, dance. Oh, real joy. (?)
Chief Elder - Then you should know better than anyone. You have seen children starve. You have seen people stand on each others' necks. Just for the view. You know what it feels like when men blow each other up.
The Giver - Yes.
Chief Elder - All for a simple lie?
The Giver - I do, I do.
Chief Elder - And yes, and yes. You and Jonas want to... open that door again. Bring all that back?
The Giver - If you could see the possibilities of life.
Chief Elder - Why?
The Giver - Of love. With love comes faith with comes hope!
Chief Elder - Love is just a passion that can turn. And with turn we have contempt and murder.
The Giver - You could choose better.
Chief Elder - (Giggles to herself) People are weak. People are selfish. And if people have the freedom to choose they choose wrong. Every single time.
...
The Giver - We are living in a life of shadows. Of echoes of faint distant whispers of what was once made real!Jonas's voiceover - I wish I had been here when the memories returned. They were the truth. The Elders and their rules are the lies.
(Background changes from the colored community to Jonas starting to stop on his sled)
Jonas's voiceover - So I do not apologize. I knew Fiona is safe, that I would see her again. And then I held the future right in my arms.
(A faint voice of the singing of the carol Silent Night)
Jonas's voiceover - The Giver has let us here, to this house. It was real. (pauses) From far behind me, from the place I had left. I thought I heard music too. Perhaps it was only an echo. But it was enough. It would lead us all home.