Three oclock: Anett

By
Franziska Rnisch

FADE IN:
INT. SITTING ROOM MORNING
The panel flat is of modest size with windows providing a
clear view to the concrete block landscape outside.
GABI, a middle-aged brisk housewife, is zealously dusting
furniture. She is wearing a washed-out towelling dressing
gown, having curlers pinned in her hair.
The room is of typical socialist design with white and
orange ornament wallpaper; fitted carpeting; a large wall
unit with glossy fake-wooden cabin doors, that is taking up
the entire wall and a coal-burning stove made of green/brown
tiles among the usual living room furnishing. Some foliage
plants are placed by the balcony window.
A frame with a picture of Sigmund Jhn in his cosmonaut suit
is hanging well-centered on the wall.
Simultaneously, her husband KLAUS, also middle-aged,
is standing neatly dressed in the foyer, which is joined to
the sitting room, adjusting his tie in front of a large
mirror, checking his watch.
Now in a hurry, he picks the fancier out two coats and
throws it on, puts on a nice pair of shoes and ignores the
ordinary pair on the side, reaches for his leather briefcase
from the floor and goes over to GABI to obligatorily kiss
her good-bye. He leaves the house.
GABI continues dusting and a moment later KLAUS returns,
bustling. Half standing in the front door, he leans over to
a radio recorder placed by the door, with the cable neatly
wind around, grabs it and leaves.
GABI is shaking her head over KLAUS absent-mindedness, and
resumes to her work.
INT. HOME OFFICE

DAY

GABI arrives through the open door, the duster in her hand.
The small room is nearly entirely covered with packed book
shelves. Apart from that there is only a smaller beige-brown
tiled coal-burning stove, a simple oblong sofa upholstered
with mustard-yellow, flower-patterned fabric and dark
leather armrests as well as a plain wooden desk with a
folding chair.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

2.

GABI begins to wipe the desk, cleaning every item on the

desktop one after the other. Lifting a picture frame,
showing her and KLAUS on their wedding day, GABI pauses for
a moment, reminiscing about the happy days of their young
love when they married.
She puts the picture frame back in place and lifts an opened
agenda when her eyes catch the lines of an entry in the
agenda. GABI continues wiping but then looks back again at
the agenda with wide open eyes.
CLOSE UP:
(Handwritten) 3 Oclock ANETT, TEL: 0351/3117638
BACK TO SCENE
GABIS face turns hard; she expels a silent outcry of shock
over the discovery. She moves her fist to her mouth and
starts chewing on her forefinger. Her eyes roll helplessly
around, and she furrows her brow.
She hectically flips through the whole agenda; looking for
other notes. She rifles through the desktop and then through
the drawers underneath but without discovering anything.
She stands with her arms on the desktop staring outside the
window behind the desk.
She takes the agenda and flips through the pages again,
opening the one with the entry. She takes a pencil and a
notepad and copies the phone number from the agenda entry.
GABI looks at her notepad with a vengeful mien.
She walks out of the room, angrily pulling the curlers out
of her hair. She leaves the note pad on the side table in
the foyer.
INT. FOYER

DAY

GABI is now dressed and getting ready to go out. She puts on

a long powder-blue thick trench coat, slips into some flat
black patent leather shoes and knots a lilac silk shawl
around her head.
She takes the notepad from the side table in the foyer, rips
out the top page, folds it and puts it in her coat pocket.
Also from the side table she impatiently picks some Eastern
German Marks from a jar with coins.

3.

She grabs a fabric bag with Konsum printed on it and

leaves the house.
EXT. ON THE STREET

DAY

GABI hastes down the street. Her gait is very firm and
somehow gawky which makes her look rather comic. Her stiff
left arm is swinging rapidly back and forth dictating the
rhythm to her pace.
As she turns to her right into another street, she hustles a
young pretty woman who turns around, looking outraged at
GABI but keeps on walking.
GABI however stops and watches the lady until she disappears
around the corner.
GABIS face turns red, embittered.
CUT TO:
AN IMAGINARY RAVISHINGLY BEAUTIFUL ANETT, in her early 30s;
perfect skin;blond hair, looking exactly like the girl GABI
just bumped into, is sitting at a table in an exclusive
cafe, wearing a fashionable black and white checked medium
short dress.
Opposite to her sits KLAUS. He is feasting his eyes on her
with a foolish-looking, love-drunken smile on his face. They
hold hands.
CUT BACK:
GABIS tense face slowly loosens up. She turns around again
and walks on.
EXT. HIGH STREET

DAY

GABI reaches a high street. People are walking along the

shops running their usual errands. GABI walks across the
street aiming for a yellow phone booth. Three people are
queuing outside while an older lady is talking excitedly
into the telephone receiver.
GABI queues up. She looks along the queue impatiently,
moving from one leg to the other. She pulls out the note
with the telephone number, brooding over the mysterious
number.
FLASHBACK TO:

4.
INT. FOYER

MORNING

GABIS POV
GABI is watching KLAUS as he is standing in front of the
mirror paying close attention to his aesthetic appeal. He is
wiping dust off the shoulders and touches his hair and
finally adjusts his tie. He notices GABI in the mirror,
watching him from behind. He turns around.
BACK TO PRESENT
GABI, still standing in the queue, is burning with jealousy.
A MAN is stepping outside a shop just to the left of where
GABI is standing.
She looks at the shop. It is labelled with a panel above
saying:
RADIO und RECORDER AN-UND VERKAUF- REPARATUR (Radio sell and
buy, repair)FAM. KunathTel.:0351/3117638
The shop window displays a number of domestic appliances,
one of those a radio recorder exactly like the one KLAUS
took with him in the morning. Next to the Radio recorder is
a large poster promoting this particular recorder named
ANETT.
GABI steps nearer to the window and away from the queue.
FLASHBACK TO:
INT. FOYER

MORNING

GABIS POV
KLAUS, who had just returned, is standing in the front door
leaning down, reaching for the radio recorder.
CLOSE UP - ANETT RECORDER
A typical radio-tape recorder in 80s design: a grey
rectangular plastic box with a handle on the long top side
and longish plaque with text engraved:
"RADIO-KASSETTEN-RECORDER-anett-IS 2"
BACK TO PRESENT
GABI is staring at the ANETT radio recorder in the window.
She breathes out with relief and sinks down on the small
windowsill.
(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

5.

CUT TO:
INT. BEDROOM

EVENING

GABI is facing her wardrobe, rummaging through clothes. She

is dressed in white underwear only. Her hair is carefully
put up. GABIS body is swaying nearly dancing. Shes holding
hanger with a black and white medium long dress near her
neck and holding with the other hand the skirt round her
hip, examines herself in the mirror. She smiles.
INT. FOYER EVENING
KLAUS opens the front door, exhausted from the day and
relieved to have reached home. He accidentally drops his
keys on the floor when his eyes catch GABIS legs dressed in
black tights. He examines her upwards and smiles overwhelmed
and pleased.
GABI is leaning at the door frame of their bedroom, wearing
a courageously youthful black and white checked dress with a
plunging neckline.
She walks up to him, embraces him dearly. Not taking her
eyes off his, she takes the Anett recorder and briefcase off
his hand, deposits it on the floor...
FADE OUT