[Quick Summary: When a boring office drone is diagnosed with cancer, he struggles to make sense of his remaining time on earth.]
Ah, the conundrum: How do you show a man thinking/feeling, without dialogue?
In this script (from the master, Kurosawa), it is in the man's reaction (or non-reaction) and interactions with his surroundings.
Note below how our hero, Watanabe, reacts:
[Prior to this scene below, a stranger spews out a list of symptoms to Watanabe.]
ex. "WATANABE is feeling more and more uncomfortable. Quiet sinister music. He changes seats, but the MAN follows him. [His movement away = discomfort.]
Shot of WATANABE becoming more and more uncomfortable. [Watanabe is increasing in discomfort as he absorbs the Man's comments.]
MAN (cont'd): And you won't be able to eat meat, or anything you really like, then you'll vomit up something you ate a week ago; and when that happens, you have about three months left to live.
Cut to a long shot of WATANABE alone in the waiting room. The slow and melancholy music of the opening is heard. He is small in the distance, almost lost in the large waiting room. [Wantanbe alone, far away = Even the positioning of the camera shows how he must be feeling inside.]
A NURSE suddenly calls his name; she calls it several times because he does not hear. He finally hears and rises. The music fades. [He does not hear the nurse = He is lost in deep thought.]
Cut to the X-ray room; two DOCTORS and a NURSE are waiting.
Cut to WATANABE entering, then a shot of their faces as they wait for him to sit down.
Quick close-up of the DOCTOR's face, then WATANABE's.
DOCTOR: Yes, please sit down. Well, it looks as though you have a light case of ulcers.
Cut to WATANABE's hands. He drops the coat he is carrying. The music begins again. [His reaction shows shock.]
Cut to their faces.
WATANABE: Be honest with me. Tell me the truth. Tell me it's cancer.
The DOCTORS' faces; the NURSE's face; the back of the young DOCTOR's head - he is looking at the X-ray picture. She picks up WATANABE's coat.
DOCTOR: Not at all. It's just a light case of ulcers, as I said.
WATANABE: Is an operation impossible?
DOCTOR: It's unnecessary. Medicine will fix you up.
WATANABE: But what shall I eat?
DOCTOR: Anything you like, so long as it's digestible.
Cut to WATANABE. Hearing this he lowers his head so that it almost touches the desk." [No need to tell us he is discouraged because his movement shows us.]
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: To show a man thinking, show us his reactions and interactions with his surroundings.
Also, sometimes a character in the distance (or in a close-up) may help mimic feeling far or near.
Ikiru (1952)
by Shinobu Hahimoto & Akira Kurosawa & Hideo Oguni
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