Still Life

An American army squad comes upon a small farmhouse with dead Frenchmen inside and dead Germans outside—but no blood or bullets, no gore or grenades, anywhere.

Type:

Short

Status:

For sale

Page Count:

5pp

Genre:

Drama, War

Budget:

Shoestring

Age Rating:

13+

Synopsis/Details

Normandy, France, June 1944. An American army squad arrives at a small French farmhouse, finding dead German soldiers lying outside and a dead French family at table inside. All have been instantly killed by a mistargeted German vacuum bomb. The Americans check out the bodies and take some food from the house, but more or less leave everything as it is. Then they move on.

Story & Logistics

Story Type:

Set Mission

Story Situation:

Falling prey to cruelty/misfortune

Story Conclusion:

Surprise Twist

Linear Structure:

Linear

Moral Affections:

Duty, Respect

Cast Size:

Several

Locations:

Couple

Special Effects:

Minor cgi

Characters

Lead Role Ages:

Male Adult, Male Young Adult

Hero Type:

Anti-Hero, Ordinary

Villian Type:

Anti-Villian

Stock Character Types:

Everyman, Fall guy

Advanced

Subgenre:

Anti-War, Drama, Military, War, World War 2

Action Elements:

Weaponry

Life Topics:

Death

Time Period:

World War II (1939–1945)

Country:

United States of America (USA)

Time of Year:

Spring

Relationship Topics:

Family, Genetic, Kinship, Sibling

Writer Style:

Dalton Trumbo, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Zallian

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Submitted: 2021-May-24

Last Updated: 2021-May-24

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The Writer: R. J. Cardullo

A former university film teacher, I turned to screenwriting several years ago. I have also written film criticism for many publications. A New Yorker by birth, I grew up in Miami and was educated at the University of Florida, Tulane, and Yale. My last U.S. address was in Milford, Connecticut; I am now an expatriate residing in Scandinavia. Many of my scripts (both long and short) are adaptations of lesser-known works by well-known authors. I am happy to re-write, collaborate, or write on demand. Thanks kindly for any attention you can give my work. Go to bio

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Still Life

Synopsis/Details

The Writer: R. J. Cardullo

Pages