THE TUCHOLSKY PRIZE excerpt scene from an original screenplay written at Isbjörnen forfatter camp December 2016 by Lena Hanno Clyne lenahannoclyne@gmail.com +46705853919
INT. GARE DU NORD, PARIS 1935 Kurt is walking through the main hall of Gare du Nord when he sees something in the corner of his eye. He turns around. A woman is walking away from him in a red coat and with a huge hat. Princess? Lydia? The woman turns around. It is her. Kurt. Long time. Not so long. They look at each other. You have not gone down in weight. No, it's against my religion. Do you have time for a coffee? (hesitates) And cake? She thinks for a bit but then nods. INT. CAFE, GARE DU NORD, PARIS 1935 There is silence while the waitress brings them coffee and chocolate croissants. Lydia nods. You live here now? Berlin is a bit too cold for my liking nowadays. You? Sweden. Do you even speak Swedish? I mean, the real stuff? A moment of intimacy, as they both know what the other is thinking about, Tucholsky trying to speak Swedish of sorts
when they were there together, adding a -ra to all German words. Not really. They don't want me there. Don't want me to write, I mean. They are scared of their Southern neighbors. (suddenly emotional) They are going to die scared. Aren't we all? Not you. You will die a heroine. I doubt it. I will die happily ever after. As the princess in a fairy tale. They normally live ever after. There is silence. Kurt pours sugar with a spoon on to a plate, again and again, without really noticing what he is doing. You know that Ossietsky is ill, do you? He is in what they call a concentration camp, most likely dying. They don't give him proper treatment. No, I didn't know. I am writing to all Norwegians I know of, trying to convince them to give him the Nobel Peace prize, but they are scared too. Hamsum is plotting against it. He used to be my hero you know. 2. I know. Kurt looks at the coffee cup which he has not yet touched. She waits. You know, there are really two things I regret about my life.
3. (CONT'D) The first is that I didn't go to the defamation trial: I wouldn't have made any real difference, but it was like giving up, you know. Most likely they would have arrested me, but then, one has only one life, it has to be lived properly. Silence. She avoids looking at him. (CONT'D) I left my life there. Like a train leaving its rails. Now it is too late, to get it back on track. There is silence again. There is nothing to be said. Lydia stands up. (CONT'D) Are you happy? You know me. I am always happy. I think unhappiness is a waste of time. The other thing I regret is leaving you. It was not your decision to make. I didn't fight. For you. I let you go. And you were - are - the love of my life. I wanted to say that. Good bye Karl. You are a really good man. A brave man. (she smiles and puts her hat on) Eat the cake, you need it. And keep the other. I want you to have my cake. Did I tell you I have a baby now? No, you didn't. (chocked about his own behaviour) I didn't ask. I am sorry.
4. Don't be. For what it is worth I loved you too, but I remember some smart person once saying that these are difficult times for love stories. Take care. She walks away. He follows her with his eyes. Then looks at the uneaten croissants and the untouched coffee. TEXT: Six months later, in October 1935 Tucholsky dies of an overdose sleeping pills. It is not clear whether it was a suicide or a mistake. Lydia was active in the French resistance throughout the war.