Judgement Of Men
Screenplay
SCENE 1: SIDEWALK AND OFFICE
WIDE:
Cars are zooming by, as the hobo sits down, wearing worn and torn clothes, with his messy hair covering his face.
EXTREME CLOSE UP:
A girl’s feet, walking.
CLOSE UP:
The hobo adjusts his sitting position
AMY (V/O) I didn’t mean to be so mean, I was merely speaking out of term, I thought I knew who you were, I didn’t understand your state of mind, That man and man are not the same.
MEDIUM(BACK):
Amy is walking in an office building.
EXTREME CLOSE UP:
Amy is holding a newspaper, reading a poem titled: "The Judgement of Men."
CLOSE UP:
The hobo is taking something out of his back pocket.
CLOSE UP:
Amy looking at the magazine as she walks.
MEDIUM:
The hobo gets up, with garbage piled up, in an alleyway, and starts walking amongst people.
SCENE 2: OFFICE
OVER THE SHOULDER:
Amy walks into the boss’s office.
MEDIUM CLOSE UP:
AMY Hey boss, do you know who wrote this?
BOSS Huh? Oh. Some anonymous fella.
CLOSE UP:
She looks back at the article.
AMY
Hmmm...
BOSS Oh. Here’s your next assignment.
AMY Homeless?! Are you kidding me?
BOSS (shrugs) Orders from the higher bosses. Can’t do anything about it.
AMY (in annoyance) Ugh...Thanks boss.
BOSS Most welcome.
He continues doing his own work.
MEDIUM:
Amy walks out of the office.
POV:
Amy looks at her watch ass it strikes 12.
MEDIUM CLOSE UP:
She grabs her bag and starts walking out of the office.
SCENE 3: SIDEWALK & ALLEYWAY
CLOSE UP:
She looks at her phone as she heads out the building, and bumped into Hobo. Both apologizing simultaneously without taking a glance at each other.
CLOSE UP:
She stopped, curious at the smell of disgust that just passed by.
CLOSE UP:
Hobo sees a pile of trash, notices something, crouches down and goes through it.
ARC:
She turns around. He wasn’t there.
MEDIUM CLOSE UP (SIDE):
She walks forward and looks in the alleyway.
MEDIUM:
She looks in disdain at Hobo, as he goes through the trash, but she approches him nontheless.
CLOSE UP:
The hobo gets a hold of what he saw, and held it up in the air.
CLOSE UP:
HOBO
Aha!
LOW ANGLE:
AMY
Erm... Hi
HIGH ANGLE:
HOBO
Huh?
LOW ANGLE:
AMY (nervously) My name is Amy. I’m a writer.
HOBO
Hah....
AMY
Erm...
Hobo looks at his new found book and put it in his pants before he gets up. His action looks weird to Amy.
CLOSE UP:
HOBO (confused) Erm....? Ye saya?
AMY (nervous) Boleh saya berbincang dengan awak.
HOBO
Hmmm...
Hobo circles around her. Amy confused by his actions, was quite scared.
HOBO Buat pe ah?
AMY Erm... Nak tulis cerita awak.
HOBO Ish. Tak nak ah.
AMY Please, tolong la. Berbual aje.
HOBO Nanti ko tulis apa-apa yang ko suka. Tak nak aku.
AMY Takde la. Saya bukan macam tu.
HOBO Bah. Merepek ah.
AMY Tolong la, please... Saya belikan makan,apa-apa you nak.
HOBO (sighs with pity) Ok la ok la. Jom ah.
Hobo begins to walk.
Amy smiles and follows suit.
Hobo led Amy to the closest nasi lemak stall, bought a packet each, and brought her to the park
SCENE 4: PARK
AMY Kenapa pilih tempat ni?
HOBO Tenang apa. Boleh aku ingatkan kenangan lama.
AMY
Oh...
Amy sets her voice recorder on.
HOBO Apa benda tu?
AMY Ni, bagi saya senang nak ingat.
HOBO Eh, tak payah ah.
AMY Nanti saya salah ingat apa yang you cakap susah pulak.
Hobo sighs and says nothing.
AMY Sorry, tak dapat nama awak tadi.
Hobo finishes chewing.
HOBO Muhamad Ashraf.
AMY Ok, so macam mana you jadi... erm...
HOBO Homeless? I chose to be one.
AMY Oh you speak English.
HOBO Am I not supposed to?
AMY No, no. I’m just... surprised.
An awkward silence between them.
AMY (Sigh) So why did you choose to become homeless?
Hobo shrugs.
HOBO Why did you choose to be a journalist?
AMY How is that the same?
HOBO We all choose who we wanna be.
AMY But don’t you need money to survive?
HOBO
Nah.
Hobo passes a bag of coins to Amy
AMY What? No, no, no. Don’t you need money to survive?
HOBO Nope. Here, you can have it.
AMY No no, wait. So how do you survive?
HOBO I live off people’s kindness.
AMY Why? It’s not like you have a disability to need to depend on people?
HOBO Everyone needs someone to depend on. Plus, knowing that these people are around, makes me happy. It’s much better than having all that money anyway.
AMY What?! It’s money! Why do you hate it so much?
HOBO Society has made us think that money is a necessity to happiness. The thought of it is just... heh, menyedihkan ah.
AMY (sighs deeply) Something must have happened to you. You can’t just wake up one day and decide to be homeless.
Hobo finishes his food and swallows it before he sighs.
SCENE 5: MALL & HOUSE
FLASHBACK
HOBO (reluctantly) My wife... All she cared about was money. When my friend, driven by his greedy ambitions, swindled me off of it, her love for me disappeared, just like that.
AMY (sternly) So you just gave up? Is that it?
HOBO (shrugs) I can’t be bothered anymore. I gave my soul to these people and they tossed it away as if it was mere garbage.
A shot of Hobo sitting down beside a pile of garbage.
EXT FLASHBACK
HOBO I’d rather sit here. It’s peaceful, it’s quiet, that’s all I need.
A shot of the scenery of where they are.
SCENE 6: PARK
AMY So what did you do before choosing to be a hobo?
HOBO I followed my passion, had my own business. Nothing fancy.
AMY And your friend was your partner?
Hobo nods.
AMY How did he...
HOBO I’d rather not talk about it.
AMY Ok let’s not. Erm...
AMY (sighs) So, living off the streets actually makes you happy?
HOBO Why not? Happiness is subjective is it not?
AMY (annoyed) Pray tell.
SCENE 7: LRT, SIDEWALK, BUS STOP
VOICE-OVER
HOBO I’ve seen people, blue collar, white collar, whatever it is they’re called... They look like their very soul was sucked out of them.
HOBO (V/0) I could see it in their eyes; stress, misery, frustration, you name it. And yet they go on, telling themselves, "it will be OK in the end."
Establishing shots of people walking about in the lrt and on the streets, and close-ups of their disdain reaction.
HOBO (V/0) I on the other hand, know that i’m OK.
AMY (V/O) And how is it that you’re ok?
HOBO (V/0) I’m free. Free, from deception, from mischief, from the isolation of truth.
A shot of an advertisement, a shot of a mugging, and a shot of a media talking about water rationing with a portrayal of the dirty rivers.
EXT VOICE OVER
HOBO Ignorance is bliss. That philosophy never really made sense until now.
SCENE 8: CLOTHES OUTLET, RESTAURANT, AMY’S HOUSE
VOICE OVER
AMY (V/O) Yeah but what about the luxuries of life, the luxuries of choice, wouldn’t you want that? To be able to pick what clothes you wear, what food to eat and what bed to sleep on?
A shot of Amy buying clothes, eating food, and sleeping in her home.
AMY (V/O) I mean, How is it that you can go through days without showering? How is it that you sleep on a pavement with all that garbage around you?
A shot of the Hobo scratching himself and sleeping in an alleyway.
EXT VOICE OVER
HOBO (V/0) (annoyed) Despite its... difficulties, it has become somewhat of a sanctuary to me. And besides, It is your society that leaves garbage around. Look at this, a book with great quality, and yet they toss it away as if it meant nothing. Bodoh gila.
SCENE 9: PARK
AMY But still, wouldn’t you prefer to live in a house you can call your own?
HOBO Bah. I’m happy the way I am, why must you convince me i’m not?
AMY (angrily) Because you fail to see the bigger picture! You have clouded your judgement beyond repair.
HOBO What the bigger picture is, to you and me, are two different things.
AMY You have a chance at a normal life and yet you toss it away as if you’re useless.
HOBO That’s the problem isn’t it? Appearance over personality.
AMY
What?
HOBO The standards society has placed upon us.
AMY That’s pathetic. Some homeless can only dream for such an opportunity!
HOBO I can’t speak on behalf of them. I can only speak for myself. Besides, I’m merely proving a point.
AMY And what point would that be?
HOBO How one can gain happiness even without luxury.
AMY That’s insane. The world doesn’t work that way.
HOBO You mean the world doesn’t want you to work that way.
AMY You know what? You’re insane.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 11.
HOBO And yet i’m happy.
LOW ANGLE:
AMY Do you really think that it’s ok to be homeless?!?!
AMY WALKS AWAY ANGRILY
SCENE 10:OFFICE
MEDIUM CLOSE UP:
Amy sits back at her desk, sighs, and tries to relax her thoughts after a hectic debate. She begins to type out her article, and just as she finished the first sentence, she stops, feeling uncomfortable in writing such an article, as she holds her head in her hands.
AMY
Damn it.
MEDIUM CLOSE UP:
She leans back and sighs in frustration. She sees the magazine on her desk. She picks it up, breezes through the poem she read earlier, and begins narrating the last stanza of the poem.
AMY Even if the skies were to turn to dust, from all the cars zooming past, Who was I to judge, and presume the nature of your being? For we are diamonds in the flesh, given a chance to choose how we shine.
AS AMY NARRATES
CLOSE UP:
Hobo is still sitting at the bench the two were at, staring at the sky in deep thought.
OVER THE SHOULDER:
He sees cars zooming past him.
MEDIUM CLOSE UP:
Hobo takes out his notebook.
CLOSE UP:
The initials M.A. on it.
She looks back at the byline of the poem: "M.A." She shakes her thoughts away.
AMY (frustrated) Ugh.. Impossible la.
Hobo takes the pen from his hair, and starts writing.
The title of the poem.
END
SCENE 1: SIDEWALK AND OFFICE
WIDE:
Cars are zooming by, as the hobo sits down, wearing worn and torn clothes, with his messy hair covering his face.
EXTREME CLOSE UP:
A girl’s feet, walking.
CLOSE UP:
The hobo adjusts his sitting position
AMY (V/O) I didn’t mean to be so mean, I was merely speaking out of term, I thought I knew who you were, I didn’t understand your state of mind, That man and man are not the same.
MEDIUM(BACK):
Amy is walking in an office building.
EXTREME CLOSE UP:
Amy is holding a newspaper, reading a poem titled: "The Judgement of Men."
CLOSE UP:
The hobo is taking something out of his back pocket.
CLOSE UP:
Amy looking at the magazine as she walks.
MEDIUM:
The hobo gets up, with garbage piled up, in an alleyway, and starts walking amongst people.
SCENE 2: OFFICE
OVER THE SHOULDER:
Amy walks into the boss’s office.
MEDIUM CLOSE UP:
AMY Hey boss, do you know who wrote this?
BOSS Huh? Oh. Some anonymous fella.
CLOSE UP:
She looks back at the article.
AMY
Hmmm...
BOSS Oh. Here’s your next assignment.
AMY Homeless?! Are you kidding me?
BOSS (shrugs) Orders from the higher bosses. Can’t do anything about it.
AMY (in annoyance) Ugh...Thanks boss.
BOSS Most welcome.
He continues doing his own work.
MEDIUM:
Amy walks out of the office.
POV:
Amy looks at her watch ass it strikes 12.
MEDIUM CLOSE UP:
She grabs her bag and starts walking out of the office.
SCENE 3: SIDEWALK & ALLEYWAY
CLOSE UP:
She looks at her phone as she heads out the building, and bumped into Hobo. Both apologizing simultaneously without taking a glance at each other.
CLOSE UP:
She stopped, curious at the smell of disgust that just passed by.
CLOSE UP:
Hobo sees a pile of trash, notices something, crouches down and goes through it.
ARC:
She turns around. He wasn’t there.
MEDIUM CLOSE UP (SIDE):
She walks forward and looks in the alleyway.
MEDIUM:
She looks in disdain at Hobo, as he goes through the trash, but she approches him nontheless.
CLOSE UP:
The hobo gets a hold of what he saw, and held it up in the air.
CLOSE UP:
HOBO
Aha!
LOW ANGLE:
AMY
Erm... Hi
HIGH ANGLE:
HOBO
Huh?
LOW ANGLE:
AMY (nervously) My name is Amy. I’m a writer.
HOBO
Hah....
AMY
Erm...
Hobo looks at his new found book and put it in his pants before he gets up. His action looks weird to Amy.
CLOSE UP:
HOBO (confused) Erm....? Ye saya?
AMY (nervous) Boleh saya berbincang dengan awak.
HOBO
Hmmm...
Hobo circles around her. Amy confused by his actions, was quite scared.
HOBO Buat pe ah?
AMY Erm... Nak tulis cerita awak.
HOBO Ish. Tak nak ah.
AMY Please, tolong la. Berbual aje.
HOBO Nanti ko tulis apa-apa yang ko suka. Tak nak aku.
AMY Takde la. Saya bukan macam tu.
HOBO Bah. Merepek ah.
AMY Tolong la, please... Saya belikan makan,apa-apa you nak.
HOBO (sighs with pity) Ok la ok la. Jom ah.
Hobo begins to walk.
Amy smiles and follows suit.
Hobo led Amy to the closest nasi lemak stall, bought a packet each, and brought her to the park
SCENE 4: PARK
AMY Kenapa pilih tempat ni?
HOBO Tenang apa. Boleh aku ingatkan kenangan lama.
AMY
Oh...
Amy sets her voice recorder on.
HOBO Apa benda tu?
AMY Ni, bagi saya senang nak ingat.
HOBO Eh, tak payah ah.
AMY Nanti saya salah ingat apa yang you cakap susah pulak.
Hobo sighs and says nothing.
AMY Sorry, tak dapat nama awak tadi.
Hobo finishes chewing.
HOBO Muhamad Ashraf.
AMY Ok, so macam mana you jadi... erm...
HOBO Homeless? I chose to be one.
AMY Oh you speak English.
HOBO Am I not supposed to?
AMY No, no. I’m just... surprised.
An awkward silence between them.
AMY (Sigh) So why did you choose to become homeless?
Hobo shrugs.
HOBO Why did you choose to be a journalist?
AMY How is that the same?
HOBO We all choose who we wanna be.
AMY But don’t you need money to survive?
HOBO
Nah.
Hobo passes a bag of coins to Amy
AMY What? No, no, no. Don’t you need money to survive?
HOBO Nope. Here, you can have it.
AMY No no, wait. So how do you survive?
HOBO I live off people’s kindness.
AMY Why? It’s not like you have a disability to need to depend on people?
HOBO Everyone needs someone to depend on. Plus, knowing that these people are around, makes me happy. It’s much better than having all that money anyway.
AMY What?! It’s money! Why do you hate it so much?
HOBO Society has made us think that money is a necessity to happiness. The thought of it is just... heh, menyedihkan ah.
AMY (sighs deeply) Something must have happened to you. You can’t just wake up one day and decide to be homeless.
Hobo finishes his food and swallows it before he sighs.
SCENE 5: MALL & HOUSE
FLASHBACK
HOBO (reluctantly) My wife... All she cared about was money. When my friend, driven by his greedy ambitions, swindled me off of it, her love for me disappeared, just like that.
AMY (sternly) So you just gave up? Is that it?
HOBO (shrugs) I can’t be bothered anymore. I gave my soul to these people and they tossed it away as if it was mere garbage.
A shot of Hobo sitting down beside a pile of garbage.
EXT FLASHBACK
HOBO I’d rather sit here. It’s peaceful, it’s quiet, that’s all I need.
A shot of the scenery of where they are.
SCENE 6: PARK
AMY So what did you do before choosing to be a hobo?
HOBO I followed my passion, had my own business. Nothing fancy.
AMY And your friend was your partner?
Hobo nods.
AMY How did he...
HOBO I’d rather not talk about it.
AMY Ok let’s not. Erm...
AMY (sighs) So, living off the streets actually makes you happy?
HOBO Why not? Happiness is subjective is it not?
AMY (annoyed) Pray tell.
SCENE 7: LRT, SIDEWALK, BUS STOP
VOICE-OVER
HOBO I’ve seen people, blue collar, white collar, whatever it is they’re called... They look like their very soul was sucked out of them.
HOBO (V/0) I could see it in their eyes; stress, misery, frustration, you name it. And yet they go on, telling themselves, "it will be OK in the end."
Establishing shots of people walking about in the lrt and on the streets, and close-ups of their disdain reaction.
HOBO (V/0) I on the other hand, know that i’m OK.
AMY (V/O) And how is it that you’re ok?
HOBO (V/0) I’m free. Free, from deception, from mischief, from the isolation of truth.
A shot of an advertisement, a shot of a mugging, and a shot of a media talking about water rationing with a portrayal of the dirty rivers.
EXT VOICE OVER
HOBO Ignorance is bliss. That philosophy never really made sense until now.
SCENE 8: CLOTHES OUTLET, RESTAURANT, AMY’S HOUSE
VOICE OVER
AMY (V/O) Yeah but what about the luxuries of life, the luxuries of choice, wouldn’t you want that? To be able to pick what clothes you wear, what food to eat and what bed to sleep on?
A shot of Amy buying clothes, eating food, and sleeping in her home.
AMY (V/O) I mean, How is it that you can go through days without showering? How is it that you sleep on a pavement with all that garbage around you?
A shot of the Hobo scratching himself and sleeping in an alleyway.
EXT VOICE OVER
HOBO (V/0) (annoyed) Despite its... difficulties, it has become somewhat of a sanctuary to me. And besides, It is your society that leaves garbage around. Look at this, a book with great quality, and yet they toss it away as if it meant nothing. Bodoh gila.
SCENE 9: PARK
AMY But still, wouldn’t you prefer to live in a house you can call your own?
HOBO Bah. I’m happy the way I am, why must you convince me i’m not?
AMY (angrily) Because you fail to see the bigger picture! You have clouded your judgement beyond repair.
HOBO What the bigger picture is, to you and me, are two different things.
AMY You have a chance at a normal life and yet you toss it away as if you’re useless.
HOBO That’s the problem isn’t it? Appearance over personality.
AMY
What?
HOBO The standards society has placed upon us.
AMY That’s pathetic. Some homeless can only dream for such an opportunity!
HOBO I can’t speak on behalf of them. I can only speak for myself. Besides, I’m merely proving a point.
AMY And what point would that be?
HOBO How one can gain happiness even without luxury.
AMY That’s insane. The world doesn’t work that way.
HOBO You mean the world doesn’t want you to work that way.
AMY You know what? You’re insane.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 11.
HOBO And yet i’m happy.
LOW ANGLE:
AMY Do you really think that it’s ok to be homeless?!?!
AMY WALKS AWAY ANGRILY
SCENE 10:OFFICE
MEDIUM CLOSE UP:
Amy sits back at her desk, sighs, and tries to relax her thoughts after a hectic debate. She begins to type out her article, and just as she finished the first sentence, she stops, feeling uncomfortable in writing such an article, as she holds her head in her hands.
AMY
Damn it.
MEDIUM CLOSE UP:
She leans back and sighs in frustration. She sees the magazine on her desk. She picks it up, breezes through the poem she read earlier, and begins narrating the last stanza of the poem.
AMY Even if the skies were to turn to dust, from all the cars zooming past, Who was I to judge, and presume the nature of your being? For we are diamonds in the flesh, given a chance to choose how we shine.
AS AMY NARRATES
CLOSE UP:
Hobo is still sitting at the bench the two were at, staring at the sky in deep thought.
OVER THE SHOULDER:
He sees cars zooming past him.
MEDIUM CLOSE UP:
Hobo takes out his notebook.
CLOSE UP:
The initials M.A. on it.
She looks back at the byline of the poem: "M.A." She shakes her thoughts away.
AMY (frustrated) Ugh.. Impossible la.
Hobo takes the pen from his hair, and starts writing.
The title of the poem.
END
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