Ben Meyers International Movie Critics

WHEN CHERRY BLOSSOMS FALL

Ben Meyers

With

J. J. Jeshurun

WHEN CHERRY BLOSSOMS FALL

FADE IN:

EXT. NEW YORK CITY/SIDEWALK CAFE/PARK/DOCKS - DAY

Billie Holiday sings “I’ll Be Seeing You” through the following scene:

May 1938

Young and pretty Elsa Rosenthal hurries down a crowded sidewalk leading to an outdoor cafe fronting a park that runs along a bay filled with yachts and pleasure boats. Elsa’s eyes search the cafe tables and alight with pleasure on her five-year-old son, Hans Rosenthal, who sits between her husband, David Rosenthal, and Hans’ grandparents, Sam and Myra Rosenthal. Hans instinctively raises his head as his mother approaches. His eyes connect joyfully with her eyes; he scoots out of his chair and runs to meet her. Billie Holiday’s singing interrupts with a scratching noise and is replaced by the sound of a burrowing woodpecker and the quietness of a breeze blowing through evergreen trees. A bald eagle sits atop a tree at the end of a heavily wooded forest path. Elsa becomes a Native American woman dressed in buckskin reaching toward a naked Native American boy running down a forest path toward her. The sidewalk cafe becomes a heavily wooded area with a series of wigwams where Native American children freely play. Where the table stood, a campfire burns. A dark, shadowy, menacing figure walks in the background observing the children. The figure turns red, glowing eyes toward the woman and her child. There is a glitch, a type of scratching noise, and Billie Holiday resumes “I’ll Be Seeing You”. The Native American woman becomes Elsa Rosenthal. The young boy becomes Hans. The campfire becomes the sidewalk cafe’s table. Despite Hans’ size, Elsa swings him to her hip, lavishes him with kisses, and nuzzles his neck. Hans’ face lights with pleasure. Hans’ father and grandparents’ faces share the happiness of this affectionate exchange. Hans kisses his mother, slides to the ground, and runs toward the park. Deep contentment settles over the adults as they obligingly move to follow Hans’ lead. A classic carousel moves slowly round and round at the far end of the park. The family moves leisurely under large Chestnut trees toward an impressive marble fountain centered between large blossoming cherry trees and the bay. Elsa squats beside her son. Another glitch and Billie Holiday’s voice scratches and becomes the sound of a woodpecker burrowing. Elsa becomes the Native American woman squatting beside a bubbling spring with her naked son. They drink water from their hands and smile at each other.

EXT. BERLIN, GERMANY 1942 - NIGHT