VETERAN

People may say there are too many war movies, but I renounce that statement. When it comes to showing the true sufferings of war, we still have a long journey ahead of us. With this story I have written, I want to shorten that path. This story aims to enlighten the world about how war grabs its victims and holds them down their entire lives.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) entered our vocabulary in 1980. The most gruesome battles and wars have all been fought before that year. Why was PTSD not diagnosed and recognized after the horrifying events of the Second World War?

In my opinion, the reason for this is that the allied soldiers who returned from the war were embraced as heroes. Being called a hero is a great power that I want to emphasise on in this story. This hero’s tale is a tribute to those who sacrificed their lives, so that European societies are not ruled by national socialism and dictators. Although almost all of the heroes from the Second World War have now passed away, a few of them are still alive, and I want this story to reach the last of them. I want them to know that our children’s children will still speak of these men as heroes. For the next hundred years and more, they will not be forgotten.

Log line

An old veteran who fought in the Second World War loses everything, including his mind.

Synopsis

The story covers three periods of the protagonist’s life. We start right after WWII when a broken, wounded man comes home. He feels that all the pain he suffered was in vain. The thing that calms his PTSD (at that time still an unidentified condition) is the love of his life. When they meet, she tells him that she lost her brother in the war. He knows her brother; he was there when he died. This connection makes their bond strong. They fall in love, and our protagonist, “the young veteran”, feels happiness for the first time since the war. They seal their love in the sacred bond of marriage.

The second period starts with “the old veteran” who is about to lose the love of his life. She is diagnosed with cancer. The woman who can assuage his PTSD is about to die. She is a strong-willed woman who faces death with no regrets or fear. One morning, the veteran wakes up to a loud bang. When he investigates the sound, he sees his wife lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood. It is a horrifying sight that triggers his PTSD. His wife wakes up in a hospital bed, with the veteran right beside her. In their last moments, they talk about the past, death, and their son John. She asks him to set things right with their son. The veteran and John haven’t spoken in years. The following day, she passes away.

The third period starts after the burial of the veteran’s wife. Our protagonist is alone; the love of his life is gone. His wife, with her calming smile and lovely scent, has been taken away from him forever. The woman who called him her hero, who gave meaning to his existence and relieved his pain, is now gone. He tries to find comfort in alcohol, which only worsens the situation. When trying to reconnect with his son, we find out that he wasn’t the best father. The veteran had abused his son, who is not willing to forgive his father for his past sins. The veteran’s pain reaches a breaking point. He begins to hallucinate as his PTSD intensifies. The veteran falls into a hole from which he isn’t able to climb out. He writes his suicide note.

John, the veteran’s son, is a well-to-do man. He has an adorable daughter and a loving wife. He has everything a man could want. But still, there is something that troubles him. The man whose apology he rejected is still on his mind. While watching TV, he sees a documentary about WWII. He sees a soldier who looks like his father. The soldier stands before multiple graves. John questions if it’s his father, and curiosity guides him. He finds an old photo album and looks at the pictures of his younger self with his father. Memories from times long passed return, but the question on his mind still remains unanswered.

The next morning, John finds the veteran’s suicide note on his doormat. Reading the letter, John rushes to his father. When he breaks into his father’s house, John thinks he’s too late; no one is there at home.

The veteran sits on a beach, wearing his old war uniform. A gun is under his chin, and the trigger is squeezed slightly. An old man interrupts him, who is a former German soldier. The man says, “Once that trigger is pulled, there’s no going back.”

A stand-off begins.

Main characters

The Veteran: The years with his wife made him a softer man, but there still lies darkness deep within him. He doesn’t speak about the war or his pain. He endures silently. Alcohol is used as a means to repel his past. He has to make an effort to smile for anyone besides his wife. The war, with all its misery, has scarred him for life by dismembering his hand.

The Wife: A strong and courageous woman, she is a friendly person who could start a conversation with just about anyone. As a woman who readily takes charge, she keeps the veteran sane by virtue of her cheerful personality. She is a joyful woman, who’d rather smile and move on than stop and cry. She lifts the spirits of the people around her. When her brother doesn’t return from the war, she fills the emptiness by falling in love with the veteran. Opposites attract.

John: A smart businessman, a warm and caring father, and a loyal and loving husband – he is strong-willed like his mother. Because his father failed in raising him, he heartily makes sure his own family has everything they need.

Screenplay

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