a labyrinth of tangled alleyways. We DESCEND toward it and into the dark heart of an ancient city.
INT. CAMPO DEI FIORE, ROME -- NIGHT The streets of Rome are locked in a 3AM traffic jam. MUSIC spills from cafes and discotheques. We DESCEND further...
TITLE UP:
1973 ...into sidewalks overflowing with prostitutes, B-movie stars, mafiosi, down-on-their-luck royalty and paparazzi dartingbetween cars on Vespa scooters. And now, from out of thecrowd, something even stranger emerges:
A BOY:
in his mid-teens, at once streetwise and innocent. A skinnykid in worn jeans with iron-on patches on the knees. The streetwalkers in their platform shoes call out to him:
PROSTITUTES:
Ciao, Paolo! The kid smiles bashfully as they fall in around him.
PROSTITUTES (CONT'D) Che magro, che vergogna! So skinny.
Paolo, bambino, why don't you let usmake you breakfast? We'd look after you real nice.
PAUL:
(smiles, blushing) I bet you would.
A car pulls up to the curb:
it's time for the girls to goback to work. Maria-Donna pulls Paul close, serious now: MARIA-DONNA Hurry home, Paolo, eh? The street is no place for a boy like you.
Don't make your poor mamma worry.
PAUL:
I can take care of myself. Ciao, Maria-Donna.
Paul walks on, leaving the girls to haggle with their johns.
He pulls out a folded-over issue of Fantastic Comics andwalks away into the darkened, narrow Via dei Bauillari.
2.
A PAIR OF HEADLIGHTS flicker to life behind him. Paul walks on, oblivious, immersed in his comic book.
The car creeps forward. The headlights like owl's-eyes. A white Fiat 600. It drives up behind him. Hovering.
A man climbs out. He wears a red ski mask.
SKI MASK:
Paul?
PAUL:
Yeah -- ?
Paul turns and sees them. A moment -- and then he runs.
In an instant, they are upon him. The boy flails, kicking and writhing to buck them off. He's got a lot of fight in him for such a skinny kid; it's as if he knew this was coming.
They open the trunk and shove Paul inside. He doesn't fit.