First Sequence: The title in white on a black background. Then, a panoramic shot through old Lisbon, (Alfama), and, in subtitles, the words: “Lisbon, early 1941.”
The camera gets to a narrow street, one can see that it is the afternoon, [light check] January, although it is not raining, the sky is covered with clouds, and there is a sense of general gloominess. The streets are empty, you can only see an old women dressed all in black, an old widow, walking with no purpose.. The camera stops at the entrance of a café, the viewer can see a board on top of the entrance, the board reads: “Café Lisboa”. Time for sequence: 30 seconds.
Second sequence: Inside the café: a long bar, about seven meters long. Behind the bar there is a man, he's short, 5 foot 6 short. He has dark hair, a moustache, a typical white shirt, black trousers and a classical apron. Very latin looking, in the worse sense. He is cleaning glasses with a piece of white cloth though stained with grease. The camera pans to the inside, the rest of the café is of a rectangular shape, about 10 meters by 3. There’s wood, marble and mirrors. There are five tables, each with four chairs with red leather, but the place is completely empty: time for sequence: 15 seconds.
Third sequence: A bell goes at the door, and a young blond woman wearing a bizarre outfit [make it purple] comes in, looking shaky, nervous. She is very sophisticated. She goes to the bartender:
“A glass of red wine, please”
“Como? No speak English, senhora…”
“A glass of red wine!” - she replies impatiently.
“No falar English, madame!” he excuses himself.
“All right, all right”, she mumbles, more to herself than anyone else, and says: “Uno copa de vino tinto, por favor!”
“Ah, vinho tinto!” he answers and proceeds to get a dusty bottle, a dirty glass and pours the wine. The sophisticated woman puts the expected amount of money on the counter, sits down by the nearest table, zips a bit of the drink with shaky hands and looks at her wrist watch. The bartender goes back to his glass cleaning. Time of sequence: 30 to 40 seconds.
Fourth sequence: Again the bell goes, the bartender proceeds to open the door and this time a man comes in. He is older than the woman, you can almost instantly realize that he his foreigner. He has about 35 to 45 years old and is that kind of man that has been around the world. You can see this because of his clothes and his odd manners. Discreetly, he goes to the bar and asks with a strong English accent:
“Um copo de vinho tinto, por favor.”
The bartender smiles, pours the wine. The man pays, and we can sea by the way the bartender looks at the money that he is in someway abset. Probably because there is no tip. The man goes to the table, smiles at the women and says:
“It is cold in Alfama”
The woman replies: “It’s even worse in Rossio.”
The man, [lets call him Frank] pulls a chair and sits down. A little nervous, she starts whispering: “What happened, you are late, I was worried.”
He interrupts: “Watch out, the bartender, he might hear us.” She replies: “Oh there is no problem with that, the poor little man can’t speak a word of English. I believe he can’t even speak his own language properly. None of them can.”
“Are you sure?” he asks
“Yes, dead sure, positive,” she replies. “I hate this country, it’s…depressing.” She comments.
“Ok, would you prefer France?” he says, nodding, pausing and zipping the drink before proceeding: “We are still on. It’s going to be tomorrow night at ten. Our contact in the German embassy is ready and will pass us the documents then.”
“Where?” the woman asks
“That’s the tricky part, it will be in the Embassy courtyard…” he answers.
“Are you crazy?” She says nervously. “If they caught us the Gestapo will torture us and have us killed…” She says in a whisper that echoes in the silence of the café.
“Don’t worry, our contact has a perfect cover story, and besides we will only be inside for 10 minutes. Don’t worry, you know the cover story, it’s perfect, they will never suspect.” he states firmly.
“I’m afraid, Warren.” she says.
“Don’t Susan, its fine. Everything has been prepared properly. [pause] Lets go. We will leave together and part outside.”
End of forth sequence.
They stand up, get outside and start walking. The camera follows as they part. It is darker but not night yet. They part without a word. The camera covers the back of the man walking up the street. In the foreground, there’s the sound of a cat miauing and of dog barking. Another shot on the back of the woman, the clip/clpap of her black shoes until she turns a corner and disappears. The clip/clap echoes. The sound of a car. A final shot on the entrance of the café with the board “Café Lisboa”. Time for sequence: 2 minutes approximately.
Fifth sequence. The camera shows the two glasses at the table of the café. Total silence. The bartender collects the glasses, takes them with him behind the counter and starts to wash them at a sink hidden from camera view. He looks at one of the glasses, notices that it is stained with lipstick, and mumbles:
“tse, tse, tse, tse....”
He washes the glasses. Gets a cigarette from a pack with the visible brand of “Português Suave”, and lights it. Takes a long drag and smiles, restored. Puts the cigarette on an ashtray. Picks up the cloth and cleans the glasses up. Puts them down at the counter and reaches for a black phone. He dials a number. We can hear 3 rings. Then, someone picks up, and the bartender says:
“German embassy? Get me Herr Schmitt, of the Gestapo office; I have the most valuable information.”
The End
Ufa. Tá esgalhado o argumento, a ver se mo pagam. E, já agora, ó, tu, na sequência da conversa que tivemos no outro dia, isto é um dare, topas? Como é, vamos desestabilizar esta porra e pôr o Lado Negro in motion?
YOU HAVE BEEN DARED.
