Film Synopsis - A Sigh of Relief

 Synopsis #6

Title:    A Sigh of Relief

Idea:    Healing Breath

Plot:     At the bottom of the ocean a marine biologist relieves a 25-foot shark of a hook embedded in its jaw. The shark returns the favour unveiling a treasure chest. 

Genre: Drama

Script Regn No (SWA): 35425

Membership No: 49484

Seg I

A gynec is holding up a just delivered baby up to her face when he begins to cry and the first gust of air fogs her glasses. A nurse slips off the doc’s glasses. The baby continues to cry in bursts taking in and exhaling his breathe. The baby is laid on the mother’s stomach for a while and then taken away for bathing and returned to the mother wrapped in warm swaddling clothes. 

Seg II

Post-delivery the doctor washes her face and is surprised she can see the text in fine print on the mirror. She realizes that something has happened. Her sight of her youth has been restored. She looks at the baby being nursed by her mother. Quizzically rolls her eyes and heads to the doctor’s room to finish the paper work on the child’s birth not realizing that she is operating without her glasses. She exclaims to herself, “Healing breath!”. 

Seg III

The baby grows up with his parents in Vasco, Goa. His parents name him Peter. Peter Bonaventure. In high school, Peter is competing in 400 meters race. He wins the race and collapses next to his friend who has bruised his knees during his long jump event. Peter is breathing hard after the race. His 400 meters race was soon after his 100 and 200 meters. He is desperately trying to normalize his breathing. Unknown to the long jumper friend, his bruised knee starts closing in as Peter huffs and puffs all over long jumper’s knee. The pain disappears from the bruised knee. The school coach comes to commiserate with the long jumper for not being able to make the balance number of jumps. He is surprised to see him sitting there completely fine. He calls out to the race director that the long jumper will complete the rest of his jumps. He finishes with the best scores. 

Seg IV

Peter soon begins to realize that whenever he is experiencing some form of respiratory distress, whoever exposed to his breath experiences some health transformation. To improve his lung power, he takes to swimming. He discovers that he can stay underwater for long stretches of time. To do that he realizes he must quieten his mind and think happy thoughts. With this asset, he begins exploring shallow sea beds and the richness of life there.   

Seg V

He studies marine biology to pursue his passion exploring sea beds. He joins a conservation group. He focuses on the acidification of the sea caused by higher absorption of carbon dioxide due to climate change making the earth warmer by the decade. He learns that increased acidity inhibits the ability of marine organisms to develop shells, and this includes the tiny animals called plankton that form the base of the ocean's food web. 

Seg VI

The conservation group equips Peter with a boat and all that is needed for him to study the plankton in the sea bed as his research project. 

Seg VII

One day Peter takes the boat deep into the sea almost along the shipping lines. He puts on his equipment and dives deep to study the plankton on the sea bed. While he is studying the sea bed he senses a huge presence behind him. He recognizes it as the Megamouth Shark (Megachasma Pelagios) that can grow up to 25 ft long. Megamouth Sharks feast on Planktons. 

Seg VIII

Peter realizes that he is between the Shark and his meal. However, when Peter looks into the mouth of the shark, he finds a sharp hook holding the shark’s mouth open. It seemed to him that the shark was asking for his help. Peter swims closer to the shark. The shark does not move or give any indication that it wants to attack Peter. Peter inhales deeply. Removes the snorkelling mask. And breathes into the mouth of the shark with all the power he can summon. Peter can sense that the shark is experiencing relief from his pain, Peter’s breath working like a sedative. 

Seg IX

He moves even closer to the shark (whom he names Little John after Robin Hood’s second-in-command who was over 7 feet tall and looked intimidating) and as gently as possible removes the hook from his menacing jaw. Little John, the Megamouth Shark, swims around to check if Peter is indeed a qualified dentist, by moving his jaw around and gulps a few planktons as a test. 

Seg X

When Little John moves from the spot where Peter removed the hook from his jaws, Peter notices a treasure chest buried in the sand. The hook would have been used to lower the chest to the sea bed. The shark nosing around the chest would have accidently bit into the huge hook and it got stuck there like a fish bone in a man’s throat. 

Seg XI

Peter tries to move the treasure chest but it is stuck deep. Little John brushes Peter aside and creates a kind of whirlpool around the chest and it comes loose. Peter tries to lift the chest but it is too heavy. Little John effortlessly noses the chest on to his head and they both head to the surface with Peter on Little John’s back holding on to the treasure chest. Little John smoothly launches the treasure chest on to a bed of fishing net on the boat. Peter clambers aboard. 

Little John puts on a little show of diving in and leaping out of the water. Wags his tail a few times and is gone. 

Seg XII

Peter in one smooth swing of a hammer breaks the nearly rusted lock. He finds diamond, precious stones and some odds and ends and a sealed, hermetic lightweight, polyethylene, waterproof pouch with a scroll. The scroll read, “Fernando Fernandes Braganza has been gifted this treasure chest for services to the Queen Dona Maria II, Queen of Portugal” It is stamped, sealed and dated 14 November 1853.” 

Seg XIII

Peter brings the chest home in a laboratory bag in which he normally brings the samples from the sea bed and takes it up to his private attic where there is a mass of sea equipment and sea samples strewn around. He shares with his parents what happened at sea and asks them whether they heard of ‘Fernando Fernandes Braganza’. To Peter it was clear that the ship from Portugal was heading toward Goa, its territory then, which it ruled till 19 December 1961 for over 450 years. His parents suggest to Peter that he approach the parish priest. The church has history going back to the 1^st Century AD. 

Seg XIV

Peter meets the Parish priest who puts him on to the Bishop of Goa who asks his Vicar to help Peter with the Church records to track down Fernando Fernandes Braganza. The name and the address are found. Peter thanks the Vicar and heads out to the address given. 

Seg XV

There is not much development or construction on the stretch of road for a few kilometres as it is way interior from the city and isolated. As he is driving up, he notices a biker in front of him and decides to ask if he is on the right track. The biker stops when waved down. Peter approaches the biker who still has the helmet on. He shows the rider the address. The rider gestures as to why he wants to go there. Peter says he has a big packet to deliver from the relative of the person living there. The rider gestures to follow. Peter follows and they come to the porch of the mansion which has seen better days. The mansion is at the tip of the hill overlooking the sea with walls all around the 10-acre property. The rider gets off the bike and removes the helmet, shakes her head, and her lush hair fall on the shoulder. Peter is dumbstruck, love struck, his mouth agape. He looked a little like Little John with hook stuck in its jaw. “Hi! I am Lillete Braganza. What brings you to this godforsaken place?” 

Seg XVI

Peter says he has something from Fernando Fernandes Braganza but wants to know how she is related before sharing any further details. Lillete explains that she is the great-great-great-grand daughter of the man who was lost at sea after his services to the Queen Dona Maria II ended in early 19^th century. He did not survive his journey back to Goa. But this was his house which she has inherited as the only daughter of her parents who died a few weeks back. She is a marine biologist. She finished her masters and just began working in the San Francisco Bay Area in the US. She is staying at the Taj Fort Aguada Beach in Sinquerim. She came down to figure what to do with the property. She does not want to sell it but nor does she have the resources to do it up.

Seg XVII

Peter says that he has certain fiduciary responsibilities before handing over the material. He requests her to accompany him to meet the Vicar at the Archdiocese Office. She says she has no problem. They meet the Vicar who shares his memory of her as a young child, coming to the church with her parents. The Vicar identifies her as the g-g-g-g-daughter of FFB. 

Seg XVIII

With that out of the way, Peter invites Lillete home. He takes her to the attic and shows her the treasure chest. She swoons and falls into Peter’s arms. He breathes on her and she jumps out his hands. And, gives him a dirty look. He points to the treasure and tells her that she fainted in his arm. He did not have to work to get her into his arm. She laughs and they are good. 

Seg XIX

She asks Peter what she is supposed to do with the treasure. Peter tells her that she first needs to take legal ownership of the treasure chest based on the scroll and her family history with the backing of the church. Use part of it to restore and maintain the mansion and the grounds and lease it to a hotel chain. Or live there. Give part to charity – Little Sisters of the Poor. Use part to pay off your student loan in full. The stones with historical significance give it to The Metropolitan Museum of the Art, New York. Take legal help from them to ownership of the precious stones and to transport the stones out of the country safely. And, put some of it as a nest egg for the future. 

Lillete asks Peter, “And no part to you Peter for finding the treasure?” Peter says he is doing very well for himself. He is the only child of his parents. He has a job he loves. And, he has a roof over his head. No, he does not want any of the treasure. If he had wanted any of it, he would not have taken the trouble to track her down. 

Peter ask Lillete where does she want to store the chest. She looks at Peter and says that it has been safe here till now and that’s where she would like it to be until all the things Peter said she should do he helps her get done. They have brunch at home and chat and develop a great chemistry given the raucous laughter coming from their home.  

Seg XX

Peter asks Lillete if she would like to see the spot where he found the treasure chest. She says yes. They head toward the pier where the boat is moored. Peter sees in the rear-view mirror a red jeep with few thuggish-looking people following them. They reach the boat and sail out. 

Seg XXI

Peter sees a boat following them. He takes out his satellite phone and dials his long jumper friend who works with him with the conservation group. He tells him to be on hold. Soon the other boat comes abreast of them. There’s a man in a white suit, white boots and white hat on the other boat. He calls out to Lillete. He says that he is her distant relative. He tells her that the property is of no value to her as she lives abroad. He would like to buy it. He offers her a price. If she does not accept his offer, neither of them – Peter or Lillete – will be going back home or Peter’s parents who are dragged out to deck of the boat.

Seg XXII

Lillete says she really does not care for the property. In fact, she was wondering why her parents put this millstone round her neck. She tells ‘white suit’ to draw up the papers and to meet her the next day. She tells them that now that they have taken the trouble to bring Peter’s parents over let them enjoy sailing with them. And, that’s the deal. She tells ‘white suit’ to make his choice now or forget about the property. She tells ‘white suit’ that if he kills her the court will take over the property and he will get nothing except a murder charge hanging over his head with all his thuggish friends in jail with him. 

Seg XXIII

They hand over Peter’s parents. While Lillete was talking to ‘white suit’, Peter was recording the conversation on his satellite phone and beaming it to his long jumper friend. The Long Jumper informs the coast guards who head to the two boats. 

Seg XXIV

Peter fires up his boat and distances himself from the other boat. The other boat does not start. The propeller is jammed with an anchor chain. The men in the boat open fire on Peter, Lillete and family. 

Seg XXV

Suddenly the boat begins to rock with a thud sound on the bow of the boat throwing some of the gunmen into the sea. Little John surfaces and almost submerges the boat. The coast guards arrive and take ‘white suit’ and the thugs into custody and sail away. 

Seg XXVI

Little John does some acrobatics for Peter and family (Lillete is now family). Peter tells Lillete and his parents, “That’s Little John”. The treasure chest is his present to Lillete. 

Credits come on.

Megamouth Shark (Megachasma pelagios) 25 feet / 7.6 meters

This giant is a plankton-eater found in all oceans, but it’s most commonly spotted in the Pacific. The largest specimen ever found was caught and released in California.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_II_of_Portugal