THE TRIAL

This short film story conveys some important episodes of Richard's life:

1. seen from the outside: his external situation, where he is, what he sees;

2. seen from his mental standpoint: the voice of his mind;

3. seen from what he deeply feels: the voice of his heart, a voice he does not listen to.

You are in a cinema, looking at the screen.

1. A young child is standing on the bank of a fast flowing river. Its muffled roar fills his ears, the waves tumbling over the jagged rocks fill his ears. Its power and majesty inflame his young mind with dreams of conquest. Its depth and mystery, all inviting, make him tremble with fear.
   "Learn to swim" murmurs his heart.

2. In some crowded high street he walks. He is older. He is thinking.
   “I feel invisible, lost among the hundreds of faces that fly past my eyes. What if I started to shout? They would notice me then!”
   From far above, a raven glances downward. He just sees thousands of moving specks: One of them is Richard, walking, thinking, dreaming, and not hearing the tiniest voice telling him: “Learn to fly.”

3. Lurking in the shadows of some vast unpeopled space, Richard is staring at the moon.
   “I cannot find here what I look for. It's so dark and so cold. I shall go home.”
   “Learn to smile. Stay a while”, whispers his heart.
   The trees watch him turn and crunch over the frost covered grass. Ice cracks in a frozen stream. He quickens his pace and turns his mind to phantoms hiding behind every dark and fearful shape.

4. Time slips over Richard until we see him sitting with Ruth in the sunshine. She turns and whispers something in his ear. He smiles and seems to glow.
   “I wish times like these could last forever.”
   He puts his arms round her shoulder, she cuddles close to him.
   “For the first time in my life I am really happy”, he inwardly reflects, while his heart softly beats.
   “Learn to hope.”

5. Through panicking and anguished eyes, he looks at the town hall clock.
   “Where is she? She's an hour late.”
   Some acquaintances pass by.
   One says: “We've just seen Ruth with Andrew in the pub. Why do you let her go with someone else?”
   “It would take more than him to stop her”, says another slyly.
   Richard does not hear the last remark for he is already on his way to the pub.
   He peers through the window. Ruth is laughing with a group of boys. She laughs and laughs. He watches a long time, his eyes cold, his face like stone. He turns and walks away.

6. Standing on a bridge, looking down at a dirty river far below. Trying to imagine himself on top of the Eiffel Tower floating down like a bird, or on the edge of the Grand Canyon, or on the rim of an erupting volcano, or standing astride the ocean holding the four elements in his hands.
   “Even my dreams fail me... It's no use. I can't go on. Why should I?” Richard does not bother to look one last time at the trees in full blossom or listen to the birds singing, for in a flash he is over the side of the bridge, plummeting silently downward like a stone.
   
   
   

QUESTIONS AND STUDY

1.
When the sun shines, one wears a sombrero.

When the wind blows, one wears a hat of fur.

When the rain comes, one wears a balaclava.

When the snow falls, one wears a bonnet.

But in a hurricane, all hats are blown away.

What kind of helmet could have protected Richard? And why?

2.

What could have happened to Richard if he had taken his head and all his difficulties and had thrown them into the fire of his heart? Choose and justify your answer.

1. His head could have melted.

2. He could have become staunch.

3. He could have found a reason to keep on trucking.

4. He could have seen his blue sky.

5. He could have seen that life was just a matter of refusing to die

3.
In the text and in the film, Richard is shown in many diverse ways. The text contains the entire film. The film is one of many interpretations that can be drawn from the text. What interpretation would you give if you were a film producer?