Log Line: A young traveler comes to earth as an ambassador of goodwill
in order to complete a college assignment.
The Setting: Present day Philadelphia, PA
The Players:
Daniel, a kind, naïve, yet brutally honest,
aspiring interplanetary counselor, arrives in the city as part of an immersion course. He studies the culture and begins what
he thinks will be an easy task. He is equipped with a few exceptional abilities, a large heart and loads of boyish charm.
Daniel
soon realizes that the human need is great and the human condition far more complex
than he ever imagined.
Maria, an ambitious check-out girl trapped
in an abusive relationship, dreams of someday becoming a chef but is afraid to leave her current situation. When she meets
Daniel she realizes that he is throwing her a lifeline and she decides to trust him.
The Hook: Daniel finds an apartment in a mostly Hispanic neighborhood
and teaches himself Spanish and guitar. He takes a job as a stock boy at a nearby pet shop and decorates his apartment with
tropical plants, fish and birds. He is successful in his counseling efforts until he meets Maria and, in spite of the rules
forbidding such liaisons, falls deeply in love.
Desperate
to remove her from her dangerous home life, Daniel agrees to let her stay with him but struggles constantly against his desire
to take the relationship beyond friendship.
Hector,
a controlling civil service worker with serious anger issues, won’t accept Maria’s rejection and confronts her
on the street. He accidentally causes her to fall and she is badly injured.
The Snag: Daniel rushes
to aid Maria but is too late to prevent the injury. Now he must make the conscious
choice to allow events to take their natural course or defy the rules and use
his power to heal her.
The Switch: As Daniel begins the healing process he finds his power is
blocked by the anger he feels toward Hector. This emotion is foreign and overwhelming. Daniel goes in search of Hector and
finds him at a bar drinking heavily. Daniel confronts him and ends up in a fight, horrified to realize that each time he lands
a blow, he feels Hector’s pain. Hector repents and Daniel forgives.
With his anger
deflated, Daniel returns to Maria’s bedside and in a moment of complete surrender, sweeps her from her room and carries
her to a secluded area by the water, where he lovingly heals her. As the sun rises, they share a passionate kiss. Though he
longs to stay with her, he knows that it can never be. He pours out his pain to her, explaining his failed mission, and informs
her that he must leave now. Looking into his eyes, Maria understands and reluctantly releases him. Daniel fades away in the
early morning light.
The Payoff: In the epilogue we see that in spite of Daniel’s flawed mission, everyone that he encountered in his brief stay
has evolved; taking leaps of faith, mending broken relationships, accepting responsibilities and following their dreams.
Soundtrack by Jeffrey Gaines
Anything New
Love
Me
In
This Lifetime
Happy
That
Make
Him Believe
Over
and Over
Life
of the Living
I’ll
Have You
Always
Be
Beyond
the Beginning
Scares
Me More
I
Like You
You
Believe in Me
Wish
It Away
The
First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Hero In Me
What
Can I Do
