The Dead Heart of Africa – Part I

My readers (Yes, I am talking about both of you) will remember that I frequently have movie ideas here and there. Today’s movie will take place in Chad. It will be an epic in the likes of "Out of Africa" and "The English Patient." I hope I can milk Africa one more time for the Academy Award for Best Picture (I am thinking 2010).

Our story begins in New York. There are two young men working on a movie that will take place in Chad (Movie in a movie, what an original idea). Let's give them random American names, say Dave and Erhan. They are referred to a "couple in Chad who know their way around the country and will help the movie crew with the logistics.” Erhan expects to see a wrinkly and old couple there.

When they arrive at the airport, Erhan finds Chad to be very arid. "They don’t call it ‘The dead heart of Africa' for nothing," David quips. They travel by bus to the city in which the movie will be shot. The movie is a military one, with lots of explosions and “fake” Chadian soldiers. The movie plot is not very controversial, but there are rumors in the country that the movie is not flattering to Chad and that the government is letting the foreigners in just for the money.

The couple, in the meanwhile, is very different from how Erhan thought they would be. The wife, Charlotte, is young and beautiful. She is half-French / half-English. Her mother was an English aid worker when she met her father, a French diplomat in Chad. They got married, but her father died of a mysterious illness. Her mother practically raised her. After Charlotte got married, she remarried to an English guy and moved back to England with her new husband. She has been sick lately, and Charlotte and François, Charlotte’s husband, have plans to see her soon. François is a diplomat and an ex-legionnaire. He is very muscular and tall.

Charlotte wants to have a child badly, but she has trouble conceiving.

She and her husband start helping the crew by finding them a hotel, hiring additional musclemen, working on the set, etc. She is a crafty woman. She gets things done and is a tremendous help in the movie set. “I am glad I found a good pastime,” she says.

Erhan (and sometimes Dave) oversees the efforts. Although Charlotte is a tough woman, Erhan is anything but! He immediately starts complaining about the weather, bugs, and everything. She tells him to quit being such a grump. “I know I am grumpy, but I despise myself for it” he says. Charlotte says, “He who despises himself…” Erhan interrupts: “nevertheless esteems himself as a self-despiser. Friedrich Nietzsche.” She smiles but does not say anything. It sounds like they like same authors and philosophers. They both work on the set and enjoy each other’s company for a few days. Husband is usually busy talking to the locals and hiring them.

Charlotte can sense Erhan’s animosity towards her husband’s public displays of affection. In reality, she does not care for them that much, either.

While working on the set, Erhan cuts himself. Charlotte is nearby. “I think I cut myself,” he explains. She says, “Oh I am sure it is not…..”Then we see Erhan. The cut on his arm is deep, and he is bleeding considerably. Combined with the hot weather, he faints. It is such a fortunate coincidence that Charlotte knows how to handle emergencies like this. She is able to stitch the wound. She tells him to come over at night so that she can change his gauze.

François leaves Charlotte with the crew since he has business to attend back in the capital, N’Djamena. Charlotte says she wants to stay and finish the job. She continues working on the set.
At night, Erhan comes to Charlotte’s room for the bandage change. “How is the pain?” she asks. Erhan asks, “Which one?”

She understands, but pretends she doesn’t. “Just tell me something,” he says, “Why are the good ones always taken?” She intentionally looks away. He almost shouts, “Look at me! Look at me once, and I will be gone from your life forever!” She still does not look at him. Here, I would like to point out that she does not want to admit her interest in him. She is aware that once she looks at him, he will know that. She starts crying, and says, “There is a clinic an hour drive away that can help you, please just leave…” He hugs her. She pushes him away at first, but eventually stops resisting. And things get sexual from there.

This is the best I can do, guys. I originally envisioned a love scene here that would top that of "The English Patient." Then I realized the futility of such an endeavor (It is neither conceivable nor possible to top the first love scene of "The English Patient;" please refer to David Chalmers for the difference between the two underlined concepts).

End of Part 1. Go get some ice cream or pop corn before Part 2 starts.