The Task of the Translator Page #3

Synopsis: Lynne Sachs pays homage to Walter Benjamin's essay 'The Task of the Translator' through three studies of the human body. First, she listens to the musings of a wartime doctor grappling with the task of a kind-of cosmetic surgery for corpses. Second, she witnesses a group of Classics scholars confronted with the haunting yet whimsical task of translating a newspaper article on Iraqi burial rituals into Latin. And finally, she turns to a radio news report on human remains.
Genre: Drama, Short
Director(s): Lynne Sachs
Year:
2010
10 min
35 Views


I didn't put anything in the box.

Just the chess pieces.

Seriously?

You should have

seen all of your faces.

She's funny, man.

Not cool, man.

Not cool.

Silly b*tch.

Not cool.

Bishop. Yeah.

Black king.

Black rook.

White knight.

White queen.

Hey, look.

Aw!

Holy sh*t!

Okay, that is

really f***ing creepy.

Welcome, my little

piggies, to The Task.

Now, for a little history

of Pennyville State Prison.

In 1931, with the climbing

budgets during the Depression,

the cold blooded Warden thought he

could keep his fortune on track

by eliminating

certain overhead costs.

His inmates!

Eventually

the Warden was exposed,

but not before having

executed 85 inmates!

The last person to be served

a death sentence here

was Warden Harvis himself.

To this day, it is on record

that his last words were,

"My work here

is not yet done!"

Rumor has it that the Warden

still roams the halls.

Tonight, you will be asked to go

face to face with the Warden,

and the tortured souls that still

inhabit the building you are now in.

Task one. White Queen.

Try not to die!

Does anybody want to trade?

Hell no!

Well, I don't get it.

What's my task?

Okay.

"The White Queen will got to the

prison chapel to complete his task.

"The other contestants will

instruct him how to get there,

"by using the radio headsets

"and the map found on the wall

"in the Warden's office.

"Once there, you'll receive

further instructions. "

My greatest fear

would have to be...

Anything to do with

all things religious.

Okay.

Can you hear me?

Yeah, where are you?

Still in the first hallway.

Okay. It says

to go straight

and take the first

opening on your left.

Nice job with the sound.

Hey, thanks.

Oh, sh*t.

What?

They turned my torch off.

I can't see a damn thing.

Okay,

take it easy, Randall.

Now, make a right

and go straight.

There's babies hanging!

Children's...

I imagine they have the place

wired for audio input.

Audio being more profound in tapping

into our primal fears than sight.

Is that right?

Yeah.

Okay.

"Continue forward

and there should be

"a corridor off to your right.

"Pennyville Chapel's

located in the same wing

"as the death row jail cells.

"It is in this chapel that

many convicts would visit,

"as they made their way down

"to their final moments

in the gas chamber.

"It is also the place where Warden

Harvis had many prisoners tortured

"just before

putting them to death. "

God!

Sounds like

a real sweetie.

No, I'm good, man.

"The task at hand

is to get to the chapel

"and light a candle for the

souls who died there. "

Freaking stoner.

"Continue forward

"and there should be a large

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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