Script

Hisuiko and the Sacred Helmet

PITCH :

Hisuiko, the young son of the village chief, wants more than anything to become a great Hero like him, even if he had to take his Sacred Helmet, a symbol of wisdom, which he may not be worthy to possess...

SYNOPSIS :

In the world of Demons, Hisuiko, the son of the village chief, wants to prove he can be bright and brave in order to earn his father's respect and pride. To do this Hisuiko must prove himself to become the new bearer of the Sacred Helmet, which his father will pass on to the next village chief chosen in tonight's ceremony. But Hisuiko is still only a child and his immaturity and desire for fun causes all kinds of trouble. He is then confronted by the chief of the village, and discovers a facet of his father which he had not seen before. His hero is above all a demon like any other, a big child like him who has not changed since he was young and childish, and a father who already loves Hisuiko as he is.

ACT  I :

1_OUTSIDE HISUIKO’S VILLAGE, EVENING

In a lost village surrounded by verdant nature, the evening settles down slowly, Chinese lanterns light up and the village becomes festive.

2_OUTSIDE HISUIKO’S VILLAGE, FESTIVE STREETS, EVENING

The evening falls on a small village of cheerful and festive Oni. A small procession starts in the noise of the festival. Leading the procession, we see richly decorated sedan chairs. On the main square, in front of the statue of the Sacred Helmet, stands an old Shaman and by her side the chief of the village, hero of the valley. Behind them, the procession all dressed up for the ceremony, faced the crowd of villagers attending the legendary festival. The Shaman speaks : the Ceremony of the Helmet which takes place every 100 Moons, opens now!

3_ OUTSIDE IN FRONT OF THE TEMPLE, EVENING

Meanwhile, a mysterious shadow leaves the bushes from which it was hidden, to stand in front of the temple, alone. After making sure it was not followed, the short individual looks at the setting sun, passes under the sacred torii, and after hesitating because of ‘keep out’ signs, enters the temple anyway. The candlelight reveals the shadow to be a young Oni, with sparkling eyes, determined to be a part of the Grown-Ups.

ACT II :

4_ INSIDE TEMPLE, EVENING

Hisuiko, the small Oni, moves forward, starry-eyed, in a richly decorated room full of artefacts of former heroes. The room is filled with candles, sacred objects of all kinds and paintings staging heroes, whom Hisuiko recognizes with ease. He arrives at the center of the room, decorated by a magnificent painting where we can see his father, proudly wearing a samurai's armor and the sacred  helmet. It is the leader of the village who stood beside the Shaman during the ceremony. Hisuiko moves close to the painting and stretches his arm towards the huge heroic depiction of his father and lowers it, we feel the gap between them.

5_ INSIDE TEMPLE, CENTER OF THE CEREMONY ROOM, EVENING
He turns slowly to see the Real sacred helmet, the relic of a thousand legends, the one from the statue in the main square, the one from the painting. At first, fascinated, he tries to look away, but his desire to be as great as his father grows stronger, and he is not able to refrain himself from taking the helmet in his hands, even if he tried to look somewhere else. Panicking at the thought of holding such a precious artefact, he nearly drops it, sees his own reflection in the helmet, and puts it on his head.

6_ INSIDE TEMPLE, CENTER OF THE CEREMONY ROOM / OUTSIDE HISUIKO’S VILLAGE, FESTIVE STREETS, SETTING SUN

MONTAGE. The procession gets ready to start, Hisuiko puts on the helmet, the Gong on the Main Square rings. At first very serious, the very immature character of Hisuiko gets over it and he begins to clown around. The procession quickly goes up the mountain, while Hisuiko explores the temple and plays with everything he finds, helmet on his head: formal dresses, ceremonial fans, weapons of all kinds. The Helmet slips down covering his eyes, he trips and falls, everything begins to collapse around him in an infernal domino effect.

ACT III :

7_ INSIDE OUTSIDE TEMPLE HISUIKO’S VILLAGE / IN FRONT OF THE TEMPLE, NIGHT

The procession has arrived in front of the temple, all the villagers are waiting for the final bouquet. Hisuiko freezes in an uncertain balance: he managed to temporarily hold back the disaster, and everything seems to settle. Hisuiko, feeling relieved, breathes out. The Shaman walks to the Temple, followed closely by the leader of the village. Hisuiko glances outside and sees his father, very serious, beside the Shaman. Hisuiko still desperately holding everything in place while being as quiet as possible, slowly brings down the candle that he managed to catch with his mouth …

8_ OUTSIDE IN FRONT OF THE TEMPLE, NUIT

The Shaman is at the torii, in front of the temple, followed by the father of Hisuiko, who looks very serious. She stands at the front of the crowd with her back to the temple. Right before she begins to speak, the whole temple collapses in a big crash, revealing the small Hisuiko wearing the sacred helmet, which slides off his head. He forces a smile, then everything suddenly catches fire, which is immediately put blown out by a nearby giant. There is just a small flame on one of Hisuiko’s horns left. Hisuiko doesn’t know what to do with himself, he’s completely intimidated. The Shaman turns around quite slowly and seems dulled and discouraged, the villagers are speechless.

9_ OUTSIDE IN FRONT OF THE RUINED TEMPLE, NIGHT

Hisuiko’s father comes to him, with a very grave look. The villagers don’t know how to react and stare at him carefully. His big hand goes to Hisuiko’s small head, to put out the flame on his horn. He kneels down to him. Hisuiko is frightened to death and disappointed by himself. Suddenly, his father smiles at him, and shows him his horn, damaged just like Hisuiko, and gives him an accomplice wink. The father, tries to look cool to his son, leans on the last standing pillar and makes it fall. We see then far off another ruined temple on another hill. Hisuiko can’t believe what he sees, and laughs with him. The Shaman is thinking "not agaaaain", and the rest of the village begins to laugh wholeheartedly. The party goes on, everybody is filled with joy and laughter.
Copyright © 2017 Marylene Sun, Arthur Loyen, Quentin Rigaux