Mikayel "Bear" Balasanyan
THE LAKE IS DEEP, THE MOUNTAIN IS HIGH
film scenario synopsis
Present days, early summer.
Summer residence of Armenian criminal Boss on the coast of Sevan lake. Son of the Boss (further in text Boss Jr) keeps there an exotic toy crocodile. Growing up not to the size of a monster from the Western thrillers, but to an animal that can kill the sheep or make a human cripple crocodile becomes aggressive and dangerous, and Boss is ordering to his son: kill that creature, and hide or destroy it, because that crocodile was brought into Armenia as a contraband. Lazy Boss Jr decides to do it easy way: he finds a hidden place on the beach, not far from residence, and throws the crocodile into the lake, thinking that Sevans water is too cold for crocks survival, and fishes will eat its body.
Same summer, august.
Hero a young man from Yerevan, who was a military guard of Armenian borders, has been in battles, then a guest worker in other countries and contracted soldier of UN Peace Forces is coming back home after UN contract is finished. In taxi on the way from airport to town radio gives weather forecast: the weather in Armenia, as in some other countries, was very warm lately, and this summer was the hottest.
Hero wants to surprise his Mom, he didnt tell her about his return. But all these years Mom was giving his room for rent, and just one day before his arrival she gave it to pretty Diaspora Girl, who just graduated from college and was sent by her parents to see & know her historical Motherland. Hero makes a phone call, asks his Friend to live some time in Friends apartment. Girl wants to look good in confuse situation, and asks Hero to work for her as a guide.
Heroes Friend was just released out of prison he tried to contraband archeological rarities, and now he is working as private taxi driver with his own old cheap car, and dreaming to find and take revenge of the Customs officer, who had caught him. When he knows about Heroes new job opportunity, he offers his driver services.
They are showing to Girl an Armenian beautiful landscapes and historical places, ancient temples. Hero tells her one thing about the place, Friend another, and Girl, who had read a lot of books about Armenia, gives them more information, and more exact information, than they know. She jokes about them, they trying to re-joke. In this atmosphere of fun and friendship Heroes and Girls relationship starts to develop to something more.
When they plan to go to Sevan, Friend gives them his car, saying that he cant go with them, because he must do some deeds in town. At one of the private beaches, where Hero and Girl had come, Boss Jr is having a good time with his friends. Girls string bikini makes a scandal in conservative Armenian public, Boss Jr with his friends starts to stick flirt with Girl and insults her. Hero is teaching them good manners by his fists and feet. Hooligans are running away, Girls heart is conquered completely. But Girl is hurt by non-understandable for Western people wrath of the beach public, and she didnt want to stay there. Hero offers her to find some wild hidden place on the coast and they continue their rest. Theyre finding a delicious and peaceful place. They didnt know that right here one unfortunate crocodile was thrown into the lake and Bosses house is not far from here.
Romantic evening, beautiful dawn at Sevan coast, first kiss. But romance is broke by sudden noise and horrible scene: crocodile bites a sheep which was drinking water alone, and drags it to deep. Girl is in hysteria, Hero thinks that he is going insane. Theyre running into the car and driving home.
From his car on the way to his dads summer residence Boss Jr sees their car. He chases them, makes a car crush and drives away. Coincidentally (only for Heroes mind) right after that police patrol car arrives. Police Chief Lieutenant is a smart and sly country man, corrupt, but careful. Seeing Girls foreign passport, he didnt say any pretensions and organized her persons delivery to Yerevan. But he arrests Hero. In local police station Chief explains, that Hero had beat people who must be untouchable, and now Hero must pay lot of money for incident forgetting or he will be taken to the court as a thief of lot of missing pets and farm animals. Listening about missing animals Hero asks Chief to listen him seriously and tells what had happened on the coast. But Chief is mocking.
At the morning Chief is called to closer private beach there was an accident. Something attacked a swimming child and had bite his foot. Beach owners are ready to pay to childs parents and to police for hide an accident in tourist season from people. Chief drives from the beach to the place that Hero told about, and there he finds some bitten parts of sheeps body. Chief returns to police station and calls to Central Office. He finds out that officially crocodiles in Armenia are staying only in Yerevan Zoo, and all of them are in their cages now. Chief sets Hero free in condition that Hero didnt know anything, hadnt seen anything and will never come back to Sevans region. Going out from police station Hero hears policemens talk about accident on the beach.
Friend with a beaten face meets Hero in Yerevan. He was staying in town because he had find hes enemy Customs officer and had a fight with him. Hero sees a possibility to do something about coast incident. He asks Friend to meet that officer again, makes a peace with him and asks for a little help. Officer finds archive papers in Customs about crocodile which was imported for Yerevan Zoo, but Zoo authorization of a man who got that cargo is false, that man has never been a zoo worker and no crocodile was ever delivered there on date signed in papers.
Listening this story Girl says that she is graduated computer specialist and shows to Hero and Friend her hacking skills on her laptop. Company goes to nearest Internet club, to cover their online footsteps. Hacking Police Departments database Girl finds that crocodile receiver man is ex-police officer with dark past, last few years he is been working as a Bosses guard chief. In this moment police bursts into the Internet club. Policemen didnt look to the old beaten car on the street near that club, with two guys, one girl and one laptop with satellite antenna in it.
Convinced that crocodile in Sevan is not a nightmare but a reality, Hero decides to make ambush at the place where he had seen the crock, to buy a sheep for barbecue and try to catch that crock like a fish and kill it. Friend with Girls money buys from his criminal familiars Kalashnikov machine gun and two grenades. Hero and Friend are going to hunt, leaving Girl in Yerevan. Road to the hunt place goes close to Bosses home, and Boss Jr sees their car through the window. Boss is not at home, and no one can prevent Boss Jr and his friends to take a weapon that was in the house pistols and hunting guns, and theyre driving behind heros car to take a revenge for their shame on the beach.
Battle on the coast. Friend with empty machine gun in his hand falls dead at waterline. Hero throws grenade to Boss Jrs car. Burning cars, dead bodies, wounded people. Blast wounded Hero cannot walk. He sees that crocodile comes closer and tries to drag Friends dead body. Hero is crawling to pistol which was fallen down from Boss Jrs hand, takes it and shoots the crock. First bullet missed, next wounds the animal, next pistol is empty. Embittered by wound crocodile is crawling to Hero, opens the mouth to bite, and Hero throws the last grenade in it .
Chief comes to the battlefield first . Hes furious, hes ready to kill the Hero, but he sees the crocks parts and changes his mind. Chief hides Hero from coming Boss people in patrol cars trunk.
Chiefs home. TV news says that at the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan near Sevan was a gunshot incident, border defenders had no victims. Chief says to Hero that he decided to help Hero, because Hero saved many tourist lives and has been alone against everybody, including Chief himself. Boss wants revenge for his son, so Chief officially reports that Hero has blast himself, and Chief can make new documents for Hero with a new name and new biography, but it will cost him a lot of money.
Girl meets Hero in Yerevan, listens for good and bad news and says that Hero can never mind about money her daddy is a cinema producer, and they had lived through the action thriller that could bring them millions. Dad will be glad!
Week or two later.
At one of the streets of Yerevan, ex-Chief Lieutenant, now Captain, sitting in a new imported car, gives to Hero his new passport and asks what Hero mind to do now. Hero says he will be out of Armenia some time, no, not for hide, he must meet his brides parents. Captain leaves him and goes back to Sevan. At the coast he stops the car and goes into the water, washing and swimming with a very satisfied face.
Version: Captain is washing, swimming, but he stops it and after short thinking runs away from the water.
The end
