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Scene Map 60
# PG SLUGLINE
1 2
EXT SHELLED MARKET TOWN - ANOTHER WAR DAWN
2 2
EXT MILITIA CHECKPOINT - TOWN OUTSKIRTS DAY
3 3
EXT FORWARD AIRSTRIP DAY
4 5
INT TRANSIT HOTEL ROOM - THIRD COUNTRY NIGHT
5 6
EXT BORDER TOWN MARKET DAWN
6 8
EXT EVACUATION REGISTRATION CENTER CONTINUOUS
7 9
EXT INNER CHECKPOINT - MINISTRY DISTRICT DUSK
8 11
INT KOVAC’S COMMAND VEHICLE CONTINUOUS
9 12
INT CENTRAL MORGUE - MIROVA NIGHT
10 14
EXT CENTRAL MORGUE - LOADING DOCK NIGHT
11 15
INT GUTTED FUNERAL HOME NIGHT
12 17
INT FUNERAL HOME - PREPARATION ROOM CONTINUOUS
13 19
INT FUNERAL HOME - OFFICE LATER
14 20
INT CHARTER AIRCRAFT - THIRD COUNTRY AIRFIELD - NIGHT
15 21
INT FUNERAL HOME - BASEMENT NIGHT
16 22
INT FUNERAL HOME - BASEMENT LATER
17 23
INT FUNERAL HOME - PREPARATION ROOM NIGHT
18 25
EXT CITY HOSPITAL NO. 2 - TRIAGE PERIMETER - PRE DAWN
19 26
INT HOSPITAL - CORRIDORS CONTINUOUS
20 28
INT HOSPITAL - MORGUE LIFT CONTINUOUS
21 29
INT HOSPITAL MORGUE CONTINUOUS
22 30
INT REFRIGERATED VAN - MOVING LATER
23 31
INT CITY HOSPITAL NO. 2 - MORGUE LEVEL - LATER DAY
24 33
INT GUTTED FUNERAL HOME - PREPARATION ROOM LATER
25 35
INT HOSPITAL - SUB-BASEMENT - COMM ROOM NIGHT
26 36
EXT MIROVA - CURFEW DAWN - SERIES OF SHOTS
27 37
INT QUARTER CHURCH - SACRISTY DAY
28 38
EXT OLD QUARTER - DAY - THE PROCESSION
29 40
EXT OLD QUARTER - PROCESSION CONTINUOUS
30 41
INT FLOODED BASEMENT NIGHT
31 42
INT FLOODED BASEMENT - LATER - PRE DAWN
32 43
EXT OLD QUARTER - CHAPEL WALL NIGHT
33 45
INT REQUISITIONED SCHOOL - VIGIL FORWARD POST NIGHT
34 47
INT MINISTRY RECEPTION HALL - MIROVA DAY
35 48
INT REQUISITIONED SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - LATER NIGHT
36 49
INT /EXT. SELMA’S HOUSE / MIROVA - NIGHT - THE TRANSMISSION
37 50
EXT SELMA’S STREET NIGHT
38 52
INT DELEGATION HOTEL SUITE - STAGING COUNTRY - NIGHT
39 54
INT VIGIL EMBALMING FACILITY - NIGHT - INTERCUT
40 55
INT TRAM TUNNEL - UNDER THE CITY NIGHT
41 56
EXT CEMETERY HILL NIGHT
42 58
EXT CEMETERY HILL - NIGHT CONTINUOUS
43 58
EXT CEMETERY HILL - TRENCH LINE CONTINUOUS
44 60
INT REFRIGERATED TRUCK - RIVER ROAD NIGHT
45 62
INT REFRIGERATED TRUCK LATER
46 64
EXT DOLNIA - RIVER TOWN - PRE DAWN
47 65
EXT RIVER ROAD - HILLSIDE - PRE DAWN
48 67
INT STAGING HANGAR - DOLNIA DAWN
49 69
EXT DOLNIA CREMATORIUM COMPLEX - LOADING YARD DAWN
50 70
EXT DOLNIA AIRSTRIP DAWN
51 72
EXT DOLNIA CREMATORIUM COMPLEX - FRONT GATE DAY
52 73
INT CREMATORIUM - EXAMINATION ROOM DAY
53 75
INT CREMATORIUM - COLD ROOM DAY
54 76
INT CREMATORIUM - SERVICE CORRIDORS CONTINUOUS
55 77
INT CREMATORIUM - FURNACE HALL DAY
56 78
INT CREMATORIUM - MASTER CONTROL GANTRY CONTINUOUS
57 80
INT /EXT. CREMATORIUM - INTAKE BAY DAY
58 81
INT DOLNIA CUSTOMS HALL DAY
59 83
EXT DOLNIA CUSTOMS HALL - LOADING DOCK DUSK
60 84
EXT BORDER CROSSING - DAYS LATER
Scene Map
60
# PG SLUGLINE
1 2
EXT SHELLED MARKET TOWN - ANOTHER WAR DAWN
EXT. SHELLED MARKET TOWN - ANOTHER WAR - DAWN
EXT. SHELLED MARKET TOWN - ANOTHER WAR - DAWN Cold enough that the smoke stands straight up. A market square gutted mid-transaction -- a fruit stall’s awning still burning at one corner, oranges scattered and unclaimed across the cobbles.
2 2
EXT MILITIA CHECKPOINT - TOWN OUTSKIRTS DAY
EXT. MILITIA CHECKPOINT - TOWN OUTSKIRTS - DAY
EXT. MILITIA CHECKPOINT - TOWN OUTSKIRTS - DAY A rope across the road. Three MILITIAMEN in mismatched uniforms. The oldest is maybe twenty. Mara stops. Hands out the window: papers, and a carton of cigarettes riding on top of them.
3 3
EXT FORWARD AIRSTRIP DAY
EXT. FORWARD AIRSTRIP - DAY
EXT. FORWARD AIRSTRIP - DAY Prop wash flattens the grass. A cargo plane, ramp down, engines turning. A WIDOW in mourning black that does not fit her -- borrowed --
4 5
INT TRANSIT HOTEL ROOM - THIRD COUNTRY NIGHT
INT. TRANSIT HOTEL ROOM - THIRD COUNTRY - NIGHT
INT. TRANSIT HOTEL ROOM - THIRD COUNTRY - NIGHT A room the color of weak tea. Rain on the glass. On the bed, her kit, half repacked, every item squared to the next. On the laptop: a LAWYER, 50s, suit without a tie, in front of a bookcase arranged by somebody else.
5 6
EXT BORDER TOWN MARKET DAWN
EXT. BORDER TOWN MARKET - DAWN
EXT. BORDER TOWN MARKET - DAWN The last town before the frontier, thick with the particular commerce that grows up around a closed border: currency changers, satellite-phone vendors, a stall selling nothing but expired antibiotics arranged like jewelry.
6 8
EXT EVACUATION REGISTRATION CENTER CONTINUOUS
EXT. EVACUATION REGISTRATION CENTER - CONTINUOUS
EXT. EVACUATION REGISTRATION CENTER - CONTINUOUS A requisitioned sports hall, folding tables in rows under the same cheerful blue as the billboards. Hundreds queue with suitcases and framed photographs held to their chests like breastplates.
7 9
EXT INNER CHECKPOINT - MINISTRY DISTRICT DUSK
EXT. INNER CHECKPOINT - MINISTRY DISTRICT - DUSK
EXT. INNER CHECKPOINT - MINISTRY DISTRICT - DUSK The last cordon before the morgue district. The man running it reads her plate before she has stopped. COMMANDER DENIS KOVAC, 40s, steps out of a parked SUV without being summoned. Clean-shaven in a country that has stopped
8 11
INT KOVAC’S COMMAND VEHICLE CONTINUOUS
INT. KOVAC’S COMMAND VEHICLE - CONTINUOUS
INT. KOVAC’S COMMAND VEHICLE - CONTINUOUS Kovac alone in the back of the SUV, her plate number still inked on his palm. He does not run it through the system. He looks at it the way other men look at old letters. His secure phone buzzes. He answers without greeting.
9 12
INT CENTRAL MORGUE - MIROVA NIGHT
INT. CENTRAL MORGUE - MIROVA - NIGHT
INT. CENTRAL MORGUE - MIROVA - NIGHT Tile. Fluorescents. A compressor with a bad bearing, knocking like a clock. The DIRECTOR, 50s, meets her at the door -- too fast, too glad, a good suit worn two sizes looser than it was made for.
10 14
EXT CENTRAL MORGUE - LOADING DOCK NIGHT
EXT. CENTRAL MORGUE - LOADING DOCK - NIGHT
EXT. CENTRAL MORGUE - LOADING DOCK - NIGHT Orderlies load the sealed bag into her vehicle. Mara supervises the strapping herself -- redoes one strap they did adequately. Dr. Ilen appears at the dock rail with a clipboard she did
11 15
INT GUTTED FUNERAL HOME NIGHT
INT. GUTTED FUNERAL HOME - NIGHT
INT. GUTTED FUNERAL HOME - NIGHT A looted chapel. Dust on the pews. She rolls the vehicle inside and brings the roller door down to the concrete before she moves again. Not mercy. Protocol. She unzips the bag.
12 17
INT FUNERAL HOME - PREPARATION ROOM CONTINUOUS
INT. FUNERAL HOME - PREPARATION ROOM - CONTINUOUS
INT. FUNERAL HOME - PREPARATION ROOM - CONTINUOUS A room of the abandoned dead. Six prepared bodies on tables, never collected. Dust on their folded hands. Mara works in total silence and total speed. Powder across Kale’s face and hands, gray as the others. A rolled cloth
13 19
INT FUNERAL HOME - OFFICE LATER
INT. FUNERAL HOME - OFFICE - LATER
INT. FUNERAL HOME - OFFICE - LATER A dead man’s office. Mara at the desk with her sat phone, running numbers through it. The callback rings dead. She works the wire path instead, screen light on her face. MARA
14 20
INT CHARTER AIRCRAFT - THIRD COUNTRY AIRFIELD - NIGHT
INT. CHARTER AIRCRAFT - THIRD COUNTRY AIRFIELD - NIGHT -
INT. CHARTER AIRCRAFT - THIRD COUNTRY AIRFIELD - NIGHT - INTERCUT A different kind of clean. Upholstered seats, laptops, the particular calm of people who have flown into worse places than this one.
15 21
INT FUNERAL HOME - BASEMENT NIGHT
INT. FUNERAL HOME - BASEMENT - NIGHT
INT. FUNERAL HOME - BASEMENT - NIGHT A morgue incinerator tray on a workbench. Kale watches from the stairs, a blanket over his shoulders. Mara lays her documents into the tray one at a time. Flat. The way she lays out a body.
16 22
INT FUNERAL HOME - BASEMENT LATER
INT. FUNERAL HOME - BASEMENT - LATER
INT. FUNERAL HOME - BASEMENT - LATER A city map spread under a work lamp. Mara draws on it in grease pencil -- but nothing she draws follows a street. MARA Hospital morgue transfers move at
17 23
INT FUNERAL HOME - PREPARATION ROOM NIGHT
INT. FUNERAL HOME - PREPARATION ROOM - NIGHT
INT. FUNERAL HOME - PREPARATION ROOM - NIGHT One work lamp. Kale flat on a preparation table. Mara circles him like an examiner. MARA Eyes. Quarter-open. Focused past
18 25
EXT CITY HOSPITAL NO. 2 - TRIAGE PERIMETER - PRE DAWN
EXT. CITY HOSPITAL NO. 2 - TRIAGE PERIMETER - PRE-DAWN
EXT. CITY HOSPITAL NO. 2 - TRIAGE PERIMETER - PRE-DAWN Tarps and stretchers down the front steps. Shell light on the horizon like weather. At the edge of triage, a dead ORDERLY on a stretcher among the patients -- killed by the same shrapnel as the man he was
19 26
INT HOSPITAL - CORRIDORS CONTINUOUS
INT. HOSPITAL - CORRIDORS - CONTINUOUS
INT. HOSPITAL - CORRIDORS - CONTINUOUS The hospital’s longest corridor. Wounded soldiers line both walls, rifles across their laps. A NURSE argues with an ORDERLY over a drug cabinet with a crowbar in it. Mara wheels the gurney down the center line. Steady.
20 28
INT HOSPITAL - MORGUE LIFT CONTINUOUS
INT. HOSPITAL - MORGUE LIFT - CONTINUOUS
INT. HOSPITAL - MORGUE LIFT - CONTINUOUS Doors close. She unzips to the sternum, jams the rolled cloth between his teeth, gets the airway open, times the spasms against her watch. Slowly -- slowly -- they space out. His eyes come back.
21 29
INT HOSPITAL MORGUE CONTINUOUS
INT. HOSPITAL MORGUE - CONTINUOUS
INT. HOSPITAL MORGUE - CONTINUOUS A single ATTENDANT at a desk lamp, sixty if a day, doing a crossword with the dead for company. He looks at her gurney. At the wrecked zipper. At the scrubs that don’t fit. He has worked this room forty years. He knows
22 30
INT REFRIGERATED VAN - MOVING LATER
INT. REFRIGERATED VAN - MOVING - LATER
INT. REFRIGERATED VAN - MOVING - LATER Gray light through the windshield. Kale rides unzipped in the cargo hold, back against the wall, still in the smell of the bag. He hasn’t spoken since the lift. KALE
23 31
INT CITY HOSPITAL NO. 2 - MORGUE LEVEL - LATER DAY
INT. CITY HOSPITAL NO. 2 - MORGUE LEVEL - LATER - DAY
INT. CITY HOSPITAL NO. 2 - MORGUE LEVEL - LATER - DAY Kovac walks the same lift, the same cold room, boots loud where hers were silent. The ATTENDANT is still at his desk, still on the same crossword, one square further along. KOVAC
24 33
INT GUTTED FUNERAL HOME - PREPARATION ROOM LATER
INT. GUTTED FUNERAL HOME - PREPARATION ROOM - LATER
INT. GUTTED FUNERAL HOME - PREPARATION ROOM - LATER Kovac alone among the abandoned dead. He walks the tables. Stops. Powder residue on one table, disturbed in the shape of a man. A rolled cloth on the floor. He picks it up. Reads the room
25 35
INT HOSPITAL - SUB-BASEMENT - COMM ROOM NIGHT
INT. HOSPITAL - SUB-BASEMENT - COMM ROOM - NIGHT
INT. HOSPITAL - SUB-BASEMENT - COMM ROOM - NIGHT Kale finds it the way a drunk finds a bar: an intact internal comm room. Trunk lines still live. His hands are already on the console when Mara comes through the door. KALE
26 36
EXT MIROVA - CURFEW DAWN - SERIES OF SHOTS
EXT. MIROVA - CURFEW DAWN - SERIES OF SHOTS
EXT. MIROVA - CURFEW DAWN - SERIES OF SHOTS The city coming up for air in the one gray hour it is allowed to. Bread lines forming before the light does, coats over nightclothes, breath standing in the cold.
27 37
INT QUARTER CHURCH - SACRISTY DAY
INT. QUARTER CHURCH - SACRISTY - DAY
INT. QUARTER CHURCH - SACRISTY - DAY Candle smoke and gold leaf gone dull. A PRIEST, 70s, vests for a funeral with a young DEACON’s help. Mara stands with Kale behind her, hooded. She puts nothing on the table but the truth.
28 38
EXT OLD QUARTER - DAY - THE PROCESSION
EXT. OLD QUARTER - DAY - THE PROCESSION
EXT. OLD QUARTER - DAY - THE PROCESSION Bells. A real funeral: a family burying two sons killed at the barricades. A priest, sixty mourners, two coffins riding on shoulders through the narrow streets. And in the current of it: Mara in a borrowed head scarf. Kale
29 40
EXT OLD QUARTER - PROCESSION CONTINUOUS
EXT. OLD QUARTER - PROCESSION - CONTINUOUS
EXT. OLD QUARTER - PROCESSION - CONTINUOUS The procession pulls them back into its current like a river reclaiming two stones. Bells still ringing somewhere ahead, out of sync with the singing. Mara feels it before she sees it -- the current changing.
30 41
INT FLOODED BASEMENT NIGHT
INT. FLOODED BASEMENT - NIGHT
INT. FLOODED BASEMENT - NIGHT Ankle-deep black water. A candle on an ammunition box. They sit on pallets above the water line, wrung out. KALE You used their grief like a truck.
31 42
INT FLOODED BASEMENT - LATER - PRE DAWN
INT. FLOODED BASEMENT - LATER - PRE-DAWN
INT. FLOODED BASEMENT - LATER - PRE-DAWN Gray light through a street grate above. Mara wraps her own hand -- a cut opened somewhere in the courtyard scramble, ignored until now -- clumsy with the gauze, using her teeth to hold one end.
32 43
EXT OLD QUARTER - CHAPEL WALL NIGHT
EXT. OLD QUARTER - CHAPEL WALL - NIGHT
EXT. OLD QUARTER - CHAPEL WALL - NIGHT A route through back lanes -- and a wall that stops them both. Missing-person flyers. Hundreds. Layered and weathered, new faces pasted over faded ones like sediment, candle stubs
33 45
INT REQUISITIONED SCHOOL - VIGIL FORWARD POST NIGHT
INT. REQUISITIONED SCHOOL - VIGIL FORWARD POST - NIGHT
INT. REQUISITIONED SCHOOL - VIGIL FORWARD POST - NIGHT A classroom. Children’s alphabet posters. Sector maps taped over the blackboard. Team leaders on child-sized chairs. Kovac stands at the front like a teacher. KOVAC
34 47
INT MINISTRY RECEPTION HALL - MIROVA DAY
INT. MINISTRY RECEPTION HALL - MIROVA - DAY
INT. MINISTRY RECEPTION HALL - MIROVA - DAY Gilt and dust. A room built for a monarchy and inherited by men who never quite grew into the ceilings. Reyes and her small delegation are received by a MINISTRY OFFICIAL, sashed and smiling, under a chandelier missing a third of its
35 48
INT REQUISITIONED SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - LATER NIGHT
INT. REQUISITIONED SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - LATER - NIGHT
INT. REQUISITIONED SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - LATER - NIGHT The room emptied of team leaders. Kovac alone with the photograph still pinned to the board -- Mara, younger, unaware of the camera. He takes it down. Looks at it a long moment under the child-
36 49
INT /EXT. SELMA’S HOUSE / MIROVA - NIGHT - THE TRANSMISSION
INT./EXT. SELMA’S HOUSE / MIROVA - NIGHT - THE TRANSMISSION
INT./EXT. SELMA’S HOUSE / MIROVA - NIGHT - THE TRANSMISSION He transmits. His own face, lamplit, timestamped, alive -- cut against the execution footage. The ledgers held to the lens, page after page. Raw. Unverified. Undeniable.
37 50
EXT SELMA’S STREET NIGHT
EXT. SELMA’S STREET - NIGHT
EXT. SELMA’S STREET - NIGHT Mara comes back to headlights and dust. The door off its hinge. The washing table overturned, water still running off it.
38 52
INT DELEGATION HOTEL SUITE - STAGING COUNTRY - NIGHT
INT. DELEGATION HOTEL SUITE - STAGING COUNTRY - NIGHT -
INT. DELEGATION HOTEL SUITE - STAGING COUNTRY - NIGHT - INTERCUT Reyes and her aide, still in transit clothes, gathered around a laptop with three other OBSERVERS. The eleven-minute fragment plays -- frozen now on Kale’s face, timestamped,
39 54
INT VIGIL EMBALMING FACILITY - NIGHT - INTERCUT
INT. VIGIL EMBALMING FACILITY - NIGHT - INTERCUT
INT. VIGIL EMBALMING FACILITY - NIGHT - INTERCUT Clean light. Clean tile. The first clean room we have seen in this country. On a stainless table: a body of Kale’s build. TECHNICIANS work from his file -- dental impressions matched to prison
40 55
INT TRAM TUNNEL - UNDER THE CITY NIGHT
INT. TRAM TUNNEL - UNDER THE CITY - NIGHT
INT. TRAM TUNNEL - UNDER THE CITY - NIGHT Dead rails. Their two flashlight beams on old tile. They walk fast and negotiate the way other people hold hostages. KALE The relay above Dolnia. It feeds
41 56
EXT CEMETERY HILL NIGHT
EXT. CEMETERY HILL - NIGHT
EXT. CEMETERY HILL - NIGHT Over the crest -- and Selma’s rumor becomes geography. Trenches under work lamps. Rows of the unregistered dead, hundreds, laid shoulder to shoulder in open earth. Excavators
42 58
EXT CEMETERY HILL - NIGHT CONTINUOUS
EXT. CEMETERY HILL - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS
EXT. CEMETERY HILL - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS HUNTED THROUGH THE ROWS. Lamp to shadow to trench-cut, timed against the sweep table in her notebook. And under pursuit, Mara does the thing she cannot not do: She stops. Kneels in the open between sweeps. Photographs a
43 58
EXT CEMETERY HILL - TRENCH LINE CONTINUOUS
EXT. CEMETERY HILL - TRENCH LINE - CONTINUOUS
EXT. CEMETERY HILL - TRENCH LINE - CONTINUOUS A sweep line converges -- boots on duckboards, lights walking the rows toward them. A HANDLER at the rear with a thin shepherd, the same breed, maybe the same dog, from the checkpoint weeks ago.
44 60
INT REFRIGERATED TRUCK - RIVER ROAD NIGHT
INT. REFRIGERATED TRUCK - RIVER ROAD - NIGHT
INT. REFRIGERATED TRUCK - RIVER ROAD - NIGHT A stolen refrigerated box truck. Meat hooks swaying with the road. Kale drives. Mara in the back with the tablet, authenticating the drive for a handoff -- checksums, file trees, hashes.
45 62
INT REFRIGERATED TRUCK LATER
INT. REFRIGERATED TRUCK - LATER
INT. REFRIGERATED TRUCK - LATER The transit radio -- old analog band, morgue-to-morgue -- crackles. Then finds her by name. KOVAC (V.O.) (filtered)
46 64
EXT DOLNIA - RIVER TOWN - PRE DAWN
EXT. DOLNIA - RIVER TOWN - PRE-DAWN
EXT. DOLNIA - RIVER TOWN - PRE-DAWN Fog off the water, thick enough to swallow the far bank. Low houses, tile roofs gone soft with moss, fishing boats tied up for a war instead of weather. A working dock, nets drying, gulls arguing over nothing.
47 65
EXT RIVER ROAD - HILLSIDE - PRE DAWN
EXT. RIVER ROAD - HILLSIDE - PRE-DAWN
EXT. RIVER ROAD - HILLSIDE - PRE-DAWN The refrigerated truck climbs out of Dolnia on a road cut into the hillside, river fog below them like a second sky. First light coming up gray behind the relay mast on the ridge, a red aircraft-warning beacon pulsing slow at its
48 67
INT STAGING HANGAR - DOLNIA DAWN
INT. STAGING HANGAR - DOLNIA - DAWN
INT. STAGING HANGAR - DOLNIA - DAWN Rows of coffins on pallet jacks in cathedral light. Flag- draped and unflagged. Tagged in her own handwriting -- some tags years old. Her dead, waiting out the sealed borders. Mara walks the rows. And performs her ritual for what she
49 69
EXT DOLNIA CREMATORIUM COMPLEX - LOADING YARD DAWN
EXT. DOLNIA CREMATORIUM COMPLEX - LOADING YARD - DAWN
EXT. DOLNIA CREMATORIUM COMPLEX - LOADING YARD - DAWN Before the gate, before Mara, before any of it: the machine dressing itself for company. Workers pressure-wash a courtyard already spotless. A supervisor walks the fence line personally removing a single
50 70
EXT DOLNIA AIRSTRIP DAWN
EXT. DOLNIA AIRSTRIP - DAWN
EXT. DOLNIA AIRSTRIP - DAWN A converted crop-dusting strip outside the river town, flattened grass and a windsock stiff in the cold. A UN-marked aircraft taxis in, engines still winding down, as a column of black SUVs falls in behind it on the access road.
51 72
EXT DOLNIA CREMATORIUM COMPLEX - FRONT GATE DAY
EXT. DOLNIA CREMATORIUM COMPLEX - FRONT GATE - DAY
EXT. DOLNIA CREMATORIUM COMPLEX - FRONT GATE - DAY The furnace of the coup, in daylight: fuel trucks in, evidence trucks in, smoke out. Document pallets and body bags share the same intake conveyors. The stack has not stopped in days.
52 73
INT CREMATORIUM - EXAMINATION ROOM DAY
INT. CREMATORIUM - EXAMINATION ROOM - DAY
INT. CREMATORIUM - EXAMINATION ROOM - DAY The substitute corpse. Finished now. Good. Under the lights it is Adrian Kale to the shape of the ears. For one moment, before the theater begins, Mara stands over it -- over him, over the face she has powdered and taught and
53 75
INT CREMATORIUM - COLD ROOM DAY
INT. CREMATORIUM - COLD ROOM - DAY
INT. CREMATORIUM - COLD ROOM - DAY Steel drawers on three walls, a fourth wall of hanging plastic strips breathing in the compressor draft. Two gurneys under sheets. And a third, unsheeted, guarded until ninety seconds ago:
54 76
INT CREMATORIUM - SERVICE CORRIDORS CONTINUOUS
INT. CREMATORIUM - SERVICE CORRIDORS - CONTINUOUS
INT. CREMATORIUM - SERVICE CORRIDORS - CONTINUOUS Mara moves through the building’s back of house -- the corridors the delegation will never see, steam pipes overhead, cart traffic, workers in coveralls who read her stolen access badge and not her face.
55 77
INT CREMATORIUM - FURNACE HALL DAY
INT. CREMATORIUM - FURNACE HALL - DAY
INT. CREMATORIUM - FURNACE HALL - DAY A cathedral of process, three stories of exposed steel under skylights gone amber with soot. Conveyor lines feeding three chamber doors big enough to drive a car through. Rollers. Hydraulic gates the size of vault doors. Heat shimmer
56 78
INT CREMATORIUM - MASTER CONTROL GANTRY CONTINUOUS
INT. CREMATORIUM - MASTER CONTROL GANTRY - CONTINUOUS
INT. CREMATORIUM - MASTER CONTROL GANTRY - CONTINUOUS Above the hall, a control gantry. Kovac at the master board, hand on the cycle switch, watching his line run backward. He does not order her shot. He can’t. Her arrival is logged at his own gate; the delegation knows the certifier is in-
57 80
INT /EXT. CREMATORIUM - INTAKE BAY DAY
INT./EXT. CREMATORIUM - INTAKE BAY - DAY
INT./EXT. CREMATORIUM - INTAKE BAY - DAY She pulls Kale off the dead line at the final gate -- he comes up out of the bag gasping, alive, gray with powder and heat -- and palms the emergency stop as they go. The hall dies behind them.
58 81
INT DOLNIA CUSTOMS HALL DAY
INT. DOLNIA CUSTOMS HALL - DAY
INT. DOLNIA CUSTOMS HALL - DAY Folding tables. Bad light. The DELEGATION -- Reyes at the head of the table with her aide and six other officials -- and every camera left working in the republic. On the table: the drive.
59 83
EXT DOLNIA CUSTOMS HALL - LOADING DOCK DUSK
EXT. DOLNIA CUSTOMS HALL - LOADING DOCK - DUSK
EXT. DOLNIA CUSTOMS HALL - LOADING DOCK - DUSK The back of the building, where the cameras aren’t. Mara loads her kit into a borrowed vehicle. The testimony murmurs on inside, hour three, his voice gone hoarse and still going. A door. Kale, escorted out for a recess, spots her across the
60 84
EXT BORDER CROSSING - DAYS LATER
EXT. BORDER CROSSING - DAYS LATER
EXT. BORDER CROSSING - DAYS LATER A steel bridge over gray water, the far bank another country. Wind flattening the grass on both sides of a line that cost so much to hold. The repatriation convoy comes across -- late, and complete.

THE LAST RITES

When a professional corpse repatriation agent discovers the executed politician she's hired to transport is actually alive, she must use her forensic protocols and underworld contacts to smuggle him out of a martial-law capital while evading a corporate militia determined to erase all evidence of his survival.

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Overview

Poster
Unique Selling Proposition

Austere, process‑driven suspense that turns mortuary ritual into action mechanics — gurneys, tags, cold rooms, funerals and furnace lines as setpieces — delivering moral reckoning through a minimalist voice instead of catharsis.

AI Verdict

Model upgrade — March 31, 2026
Verdicts are often harsher under the new readers, but the analysis is significantly stronger. Under the previous models, this script would have scored:
The scoring scale changed with the upgrade — use these only to compare against earlier revisions of this script. Click any reader to open their full legacy review.

Synthesis Where readers agree and split
8.3

A qualified championable prestige thriller whose strong procedural execution and distinctive voice are slightly undercut by third-act causal diffusion and under-dramatized character turns.

Readers read as Elevated commercial1 Specialty1 Prestige3 Thriller Drama War majority

A prestige thriller offering cumulative moral pressure through procedural restraint, systemic dread, and a protagonist whose ethics are tested by the collision of her methodology with a weaponized bureaucracy.

Would readers champion it?
Not yetNot yetReaders wouldn’t actively push for it.
WeaklyWeaklyMentioned, but no real push behind it.
ModeratelyModeratelyMentioned favorably to the right buyer.
StronglyStronglyActively championed across their network.
DeepSeekModeratelyGrokModeratelyClaudeStronglyGPT5StronglyGeminiStrongly
How much rewrite does it need?
Start from scratchStart from scratchPremise or core engine isn’t working. Page-one rebuild.
Structural rewriteStructural rewriteSpecific acts or zones need rebuilding — not starting over, but significant revision work on those sections.
Targeted rewriteTargeted rewriteSpecific scenes or threads need rework. ~1 month.
Just polishJust polishLines and pacing tweaks. A few weeks.
ClaudeTargeted rewriteDeepSeekTargeted rewriteGPT5Targeted rewriteGrokTargeted rewriteGeminiJust polish
How distinctive is the voice?
GenericGenericReads like other scripts in the genre.
EmergingEmergingHints of a distinctive voice, not yet locked in.
DistinctiveDistinctiveA clear, recognizable authorial voice.
One-of-a-kindOne-of-a-kindA voice that couldn’t be anyone else’s.
DeepSeekDistinctiveGrokDistinctiveClaudeOne-of-a-kindGPT5One-of-a-kindGeminiOne-of-a-kind
What's working All 5 readers agree

The script's use of professional ritual as the simultaneous vehicle for character, theme, and plot constitutes a genuine craft signature that readers consistently champion.

What's blocking 4 of 5 readers agree

The third-act causal chain weakens as plot mechanics overtake protagonist agency, preventing the climax from fully delivering on the moral precision the first two acts establish.

Why not lower

The script's formal control, distinctive setpiece design, and sustained thematic execution provide a clear advocacy case even with the identified structural gaps.

Why not higher

The third-act causal diffusion and the late arrival of Kale's moral complexity prevent the script from achieving the cumulative emotional and thematic impact its ambition reaches for.

Fix-first · Protect-while-fixing · Reader splits · Quick credibility wins
Rewrite map

A script with a distinctive procedural voice and strong setpiece architecture that needs targeted work on third-act causal pressure and the dramatization of its protagonist's moral reckoning.

Readers read as Elevated commercial1 Specialty1 Prestige3 majority

Start here

Re-anchoring the third act to Mara's active professional choices addresses both the causal pressure diffusion and the under-dramatized moral reckoning, ensuring the climax stems from character consequence rather than plot convenience.

What's working 1
Setpieces derived from institutional mechanics

The script consistently transforms morgue, funeral, and crematorium processes into cinematic engines, generating suspense through systems and craft rather than pyrotechnics.

Protect while fixing 1
Procedural ritual as character and theme

Tightening the third act's causal chain or dramatizing Mara's interiority risks over-explaining the ritual's meaning or adding conventional emotional beats that break the script's restrained register.

When restructuring the back-half sequences, preserve Mara's methodology as the primary engine of tension and moral argument, resisting the urge to replace silent procedural beats with explanatory dialogue or internal monologue.

Fix first 3
Third-act causal pressure diffuses as plot mechanics overtake protagonist agency

The reader loses forward pull as the climax relies on external resolutions and antagonist self-erasure rather than the protagonist's accumulated choices.

Root cause

The script shifts from Mara's procedural code driving the plot to thematic necessity dictating set pieces, leaving her agency passive during the crematorium and customs sequences.

One direction

Re-anchor the back-half sequences to Mara's active decisions, ensuring each escalation stems from her professional methodology rather than plot convenience or antagonist resignation.

Kale's moral complexity and turn arrive late or under-dramatized

The reader experiences a sudden pivot in moral alignment rather than a cumulative reckoning, making the final confession feel structurally efficient instead of emotionally earned.

Root cause

The script withholds Kale's execution orders until sequence 44 and compresses his psychological shift into a single confrontation, leaving insufficient space for the reader to process the reframing before the climax.

One direction

Seed earlier behavioral hints of Kale's complicity and extend the processing of his revelation across the Act Three threshold so his customs hall testimony reads as a culmination rather than a late pivot.

Mara's internal cost and code breach remain inferred rather than dramatized Medium confidence

The reader respects Mara's competence but struggles to feel the visceral cost of her breaking a seven-year rule, making her final choice read as professional calculation rather than personal rupture.

Root cause

The script relies on deliberate withholding and late backstory fragments to convey interiority, which maintains tonal restraint but limits emotional anchoring at critical turning points.

One direction

Introduce one or two early, silent procedural beats where Mara's ritual visibly fractures under pressure, giving the reader an emotional anchor for her interior cost without breaking the established register.

Ask AI about this read
Story Facts
Genres:
Drama 80% Thriller 60% War 40% Crime 30%

Setting: Contemporary, during a time of war and political unrest, A fictional war-torn country, primarily in urban areas like Mirova, Dolnia, and various locations including a crematorium, hospital, and funeral homes.

Themes: Death and Documentation, Moral Complicity and Truth, Grief and Loss, Redemption and Sacrifice, The Machine vs. The Individual

Conflict & Stakes: Mara's struggle to navigate her professional duties amidst the chaos of war, while grappling with her moral compass and the consequences of her actions, particularly regarding Kale's survival and the lives of others.

Mood: Somber and tense, with moments of introspection and urgency.

Standout Features:

  • Unique Hook: The protagonist's profession as a body handler in a war zone provides a fresh perspective on the human cost of conflict.
  • Plot Twist: Kale's survival and the revelation of his complicity in the war's atrocities create a compelling moral dilemma.
  • Distinctive Setting: The war-torn urban landscape serves as a character itself, reflecting the chaos and despair of the narrative.
  • Innovative Ideas: The use of body handling as a narrative device to explore themes of death, loss, and the ethics of survival.
  • Genre Blend: Combines elements of war drama, thriller, and psychological exploration.

Comparable Scripts: The Constant Gardener, Hotel Rwanda, The Third Man, The Killing Fields, The Night Manager, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, The Wire (Season 2), The Ghost Writer, The Report, The Last King of Scotland

How 5 AI Readers Scored The Script

Readers graded as Elevated commercial1 Specialty1 Prestige3 majority
Claude GPT5 Gemini DeepSeek Grok Average spread Row tint: weak mid strong excellent
Premise i
8.4
Plot i
8.0
Structure i
7.8
Character i
8.4
Dialogue i
7.8
Tone / Voice i
8.8
Theme i
8.6
Marketability i
7.4

Script Level Analysis

Writer Exec

This section delivers a top-level assessment of the screenplay’s strengths and weaknesses — covering overall quality (P/C/R/HR), character development, emotional impact, thematic depth, narrative inconsistencies, and the story’s core philosophical conflict. It helps identify what’s resonating, what needs refinement, and how the script aligns with professional standards.

Screenplay Insights

Breaks down your script along various categories.

Overall Score: 8.75
Key Suggestions:
The analysis highlights that while your protagonist Mara is compelling, secondary characters like Branka and Reyes need more depth to enhance the emotional resonance and thematic weight of the story. Consider giving Branka a clear personal stake or a moment of quiet rebellion earlier, and Reyes a specific history with the regime to make her involvement more than a professional obligation. Additionally, the emotional palette is heavily weighted toward tension and grief; adding a brief moment of shared warmth or dark humor between Mara and Kale before the ambush would create necessary contrast and make the tragic beats land harder. Tightening the middle act by intercutting hiding sequences with Kovac’s pursuit would also maintain momentum. These adjustments will elevate the screenplay from a strong thriller to a truly memorable character-driven drama.
Story Critique

Big-picture feedback on the story’s clarity, stakes, cohesion, and engagement.

Key Suggestions:
The script is a taut, morally complex thriller with a strong protagonist and original premise, but the middle act suffers from repetitive chase sequences that diminish tension. To improve, vary escape methods (e.g., replace some chases with quieter infiltration or dialogue-driven scenes) and tighten the pacing by merging redundant near-misses. Additionally, develop the underdeveloped Ilic subplot earlier—foreshadow the execution orders and have Kale confront the consequences of his signatures more directly. The ending montage of the machine surviving undercuts catharsis; consider truncating it to a single, resonant image or adding a final scene that shows Mara's personal cost.
Characters

Explores the depth, clarity, and arc of the main and supporting characters.

Key Suggestions:
The character analysis reveals a script with strong, layered protagonists (Mara, Kale, Kovac) whose arcs are deeply tied to the themes of complicity and redemption. To elevate the craft, focus on deepening Mara's internal conflict: her convoy trauma and the photograph behind the camera strap need more explicit emotional weight. Strengthen Kale's turning point from martyrdom to testimony by adding a visceral moment of personal accountability (e.g., confronting the mother of the sons). Kovac's death is powerful but could be more resonant with a brief hesitation before he steps into the machine. The script's emotional beats are well-placed, but ensuring that Mara's rare vulnerabilities (e.g., burning her papers) are given space without dialogue will maximize impact. Also, consider tightening the procedural scenes (e.g., scene 35) or merging them with character moments to maintain momentum.
Emotional Analysis

Breaks down the emotional journey of the audience across the script.

Key Suggestions:
The script is gripping and emotionally intense, but it risks exhausting the audience due to a relentless tone of suspense and sadness with almost no relief. To elevate the craft, introduce moments of contrast—brief humor, tenderness, or quiet reflection—especially in the first two acts. The emotional climaxes (e.g., Kovac's sacrifice, Selma's abduction) are powerful but need more breathing room for the audience to process. Consider adding a cathartic beat or a subtle hopeful note in the final act to satisfy emotional investment. The visual storytelling is strong, but a few well-placed lines of dialogue could clarify emotional beats for viewers who miss subtle cues.
Goals and Philosophical Conflict

Evaluates character motivations, obstacles, and sources of tension throughout the plot.

Key Suggestions:
The analysis highlights that Mara's internal evolution from detached documenter to active participant is the script's emotional core. To strengthen this arc, ensure that each of her decisions—especially those that break her own rules—is motivated by a clear internal conflict between preserving her professional detachment and her growing sense of moral responsibility. The philosophical conflict between individual lives and bureaucratic machinery is well-established, but could be deepened by showing how Mara's past trauma (the convoy massacre) directly informs her present choices. The script's strongest moments come when she acts against her own survival instincts for the sake of the living.
Themes

Analysis of the themes of the screenplay and how well they’re expressed.

Key Suggestions:
The script's thematic strength lies in the detailed, procedural handling of death as a form of bureaucratic complicity. To deepen the emotional impact, consider weaving Mara's personal grief more explicitly into the documentation rituals—her hidden photograph and the names she reads aloud could be expanded into moments of vulnerability that break through her professional detachment. The balance between the cold machinery of war and the raw human cost will make the moral awakening feel earned rather than abstract.
Logic & Inconsistencies

Highlights any contradictions, plot holes, or logic gaps that may confuse viewers.

Key Suggestions:
The script has strong thematic and emotional bones, but the analysis reveals recurring tension between character consistency and plot convenience. Mara’s core trait—uncompromising verification—is undermined when she accepts custody despite obvious lies, which breaks the trust you’ve built with the audience. Similarly, the repeated canine alerts dismissed by handlers and the overly neat choreography of the crematorium exit/entry risk feeling manufactured. Tightening these moments—showing Mara’s reasoning in scene 9, trimming redundant training mantras, and offsetting the delegation’s arrival—will strengthen the craft and keep the audience fully immersed in the world you’ve built.

Scene Analysis

All of your scenes analyzed individually and compared, so you can zero in on what to improve.

Scene-Level Percentile Chart
Hover over the graph to see more details about each score.
Go to Scene Analysis

Other Analyses

Writer Exec

This section looks at the extra spark — your story’s voice, style, world, and the moments that really stick. These insights might not change the bones of the script, but they can make it more original, more immersive, and way more memorable. It’s where things get fun, weird, and wonderfully you.

Unique Voice

Assesses the distinctiveness and personality of the writer's voice.

Key Suggestions:
The voice analysis confirms that your terse, imagistic, and procedural style is a powerful asset. To maximize its impact, ensure every scene maintains this controlled restraint—avoid over-explaining emotions or moral judgments, and let the physical details and sparse dialogue carry the weight. The best scene (11) demonstrates how clinical precision can heighten tension and moral complexity; apply this approach consistently, especially in scenes where characters face ethical crossroads. Trust that the reader will infer the depths you leave unsaid.
Writer's Craft

Analyzes the writing to help the writer be aware of their skill and improve.

Key Suggestions:
The screenplay demonstrates a sophisticated, restrained voice and strong visual storytelling. However, many scenes lack immediate dramatic tension, clear opposition, and forward momentum. The writer's challenge is to inject active conflict and stakes into even the quietest moments, without sacrificing the signature tone. Focus on making each scene function as an engine of plot and character conflict, not just a thematic beat. The protagonist should be more active, pushing against obstacles, and the reader should feel a sense of urgency or pressure even in procedural scenes.
Memorable Lines
Spotlights standout dialogue lines with emotional or thematic power.
Tropes
Highlights common or genre-specific tropes found in the script.
World Building

Evaluates the depth, consistency, and immersion of the story's world.

Key Suggestions:
The world-building analysis reveals that the script's environment—war-torn Mirova, with its checkpoints, funerals, crematoria, and pervasive surveillance—is not merely a backdrop but an active narrative engine. Every physical and cultural detail (from the use of mourners as cover to the crematorium's conveyor belt) serves plot, character, and theme. The writer should lean into this integration: ensure that each location and ritual serves multiple purposes (obstacle, disguise, moral weight). The strongest moments occur when the world directly forces character choices (e.g., playing dead in a cemetery, reversing the cremation line). To deepen the script, consider further mining the tension between the dead as cargo and the living as witnesses—the world itself dramatizes the cost of complicity and erasure.
Correlations

Identifies patterns in scene scores.

Key Suggestions:
The scenepatterns analysis returned no correlations, which may indicate that the script's structure is either highly original and free of predictable patterns, or that the analysis method did not capture meaningful relationships between scenes. Consider whether this aligns with your creative intent—if you aimed for a unique, unpredictable narrative, this is a positive sign. However, if you intended to use recurring motifs or structural echoes, you might want to review the script for intentional patterns that the analysis may have missed.
Loglines
Presents logline variations based on theme, genre, and hook.