The scripts I post here are free for anyone to adapt and produce. All I ask is that I be contacted, and that I receive a writer’s credit. “The Final Blow” was co-written by Katie Yu.

THE FINAL BLOW (1994) – SYNOPSIS

“The Final Blow” is a melodrama in which very little happens. This is the central irony of the film. Nothing seems to happen because throughout his life, Joshua has never made his love for Sarah explicit. We are not given the chance to find out if Joshua might have found true love with Sarah simply because he never has the courage to declare his love. This absent
declaration of love is symbolized throughout the film by Joshua’s intent to serenade her with his harmonica.

Some have read this as a love story. I have no issue with that, although personally, I never thought of “The Final Blow” that way. Perhaps it is more of a love fantasy, or a life-long childhood crush. It is about the fictions we create for ourselves, and about the nature of communication between individuals.

One thing I like about this script is the clashing of cinematic styles. Essentially “The Final Blow” is a musical melodrama. Since writing this script I have seen a similar idea explored to great effect by Lars Von Trier, in the film “Dancer in the Dark”. Of course this is where the similarity ends. “Dancer in the Dark” is a feature, and the themes it explores are very different.

Though the film spans the course of a lifetime, the scenes themselves are written in such a way that great leaps in time can be achieved effectively without a large budget.

Above all, “The Final Blow”, as I envisioned it, is intended to make the viewer laugh.

BUS STORIES (1994) – SYNOPSIS

Bus Stories is a funny look at bus travel at the turn of the twentieth century, told by an ancient man to his two curious grandchildren. They have never seen a bus, but he is old enough to remember what riding such a thing was like.

Though linked by a central plot thread, tying some of the characters together, the focus is on the scenes themselves, each of which tells a small story of its own. It is through the accumulation and juxtaposition of these mini tales that the film tries to find its meaning.