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Tenet · written by Christopher Nolan · 2020
Scene 13 of 275 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act one
An unnamed intelligence operative, recruited into a shadow war fought through time-inverted weapons and objects, teams with an enigmatic ally to stop a dying Russian oligarch from using technology gifted by a dying future to erase the present.
A staged terrorist siege at the Kiev opera — chaos, disguise, and a world where nothing is what it appears to be.
The Protagonist races to the coat check and recovers a black metal object from a numbered bag.
The Protagonist flees down a service corridor searching for an exit.
He swaps the Well-Dressed Man's clothes with a fake SWAT, hands off the object, and resolves to disarm every bomb in the theatre himself.
This scene
The Protagonist and the ‘Target’ race through the SLEEPING AUDIENCE COLLECTING BOMBS – the TIMERS tick down – ‘1:58’, ‘1:57’.
Crouched at a bomb, the Protagonist notices a BULLET HOLE in the side of the chair – a TINY WHIFF OF SMOKE GATHERING...
CLICK – a gun is to his head – he spins around to see a SWAT... ‘0:34’, ‘0:33’... The ‘Target’ has his own gun on the SWAT – A STAND-OFF – all around them, UNCONSCIOUS CIVILIANS...
PROTAGONIST
Walk away – you don’t need to kill
these people.
The Protagonist turns back to the bomb... ‘0:32’, ‘0:31’. At the bullet hole the PUFF OF SMOKE THICKENS... the Protagonist, confused, REACHES towards it... the SWAT COCKS his weapon...
BLAM! With EXPLOSIVE FORCE THE BULLET HOLE DISAPPEARS – A NICK HAS APPEARED IN THE PROTAGONIST’S UNIFORM – he SPINS – the SWAT is SHOT THROUGH THE CHEST AND DROPS... revealing a FIGURE, also in a gas mask and tactical gear...
The Figure TURNS – the Protagonist sees, on the Figure’s pack, a small TALISMAN – a COIN with a hole tied to a zip by ORANGE AND YELLOW THREAD – the Protagonist turns back to grab the bomb –
‘TARGET’
That wasn’t one of us.
PROTAGONIST
I’ll take the help.
The Protagonist GRABS the last bomb: ‘0:03’... he looks up to the boxes, where REAL SWATS EVACUATE THE HIGH OFFICIALS... THE PROTAGONIST LOBS THE BOMBS UP INTO THE BOXES...