- 13 hours ago
Lover Under Mask
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:12everyone echo is here today we only discuss the exhibition no personal questions welcome back to
00:19the city I'm Eli Walker curator of this exhibition I've heard a lot about you likewise this piece
00:29silent night will be placed in the center of the main hall that is if our mysterious artist is
00:34willing to cooperate with basic publicity honestly talking about sincerity behind a mask
00:39is ironic my work speaks for itself my face is irrelevant or is it that your face can't be shown
00:46Damien we are discussing the exhibition not staging a provocation
00:53echo wait have we met before no that's strange your voice the way you look at people
01:03it all feels familiar maybe you're mistaking me for someone else
01:09was that person important to you you don't remember someone this long if they didn't matter
01:27bad news someone posted photos of you and Eli at the elevator last night Damien's people
01:34who else would be this eager to start a fire
01:37I've heard a lot about you you've been off since last night I'm thinking about the exhibition you'd
01:45better be this isn't a public piece and it wasn't in the catalog your team sent me probably a discarded
01:52sketch that got mixed in during packing but it doesn't look discarded I've seen this place a lot
01:58of people have seen rooftops and stars but not many people can paint that cracked cement wall exactly
02:03like this sorry to interrupt but I'd like to remind everyone that our promo still lacks a proper
02:08frontal shot of the artist the contract is clear no face reveal the public has a right to know
02:14especially when an artist's story feels more like branding than art that's enough are you protecting him
02:20or your own curiosity if this gallery needs a face more than an exhibition we can terminate the
02:25collaboration right now it won't be terminated at least not for that reason
02:33I'm not here to push you then why are you here I just want to know why the things you
02:39paint feel
02:40like they're stealing my memories and your eyes they really remind me of someone
02:47two centimeters higher on the left no the starlight is crushing the figure's breathing space
02:52you see it well because I feel like I know the people in your pictures why are they always turned
02:58away from the viewer because one of them still isn't ready to turn around some reporters coming
03:02tonight are already asking whether ego playtrees his own persona you're setting fires and pretending
03:06to be the firefighter I'm just clearing the smoke Damien out you're sounding less and less like
03:12someone protecting a project
03:25you almost slipped today he remembered that wall the issue isn't whether he remembers the issue is
03:33how long you plan to keep hiding I'm not afraid he'll recognize me I'm afraid the answer I never got
03:3910 years ago will be the same now keep digging I want every address school record and family file
03:48eco had in the last 10 years especially why he vanished 10 years ago I stared at this painting
03:57for two hours last night it reminds me of someone I lost strange part is I'm starting to wonder if
04:04he
04:04came back in his place to find me an artist's job isn't to return in someone else's place then what
04:11is your
04:11job to leave behind the words that were never said he's watching you and he's watching Eli I think he's
04:18digging into
04:19your past my past is already all over these paintings but your identity isn't if you get exposed by force
04:25it
04:25just ruin your love life the art market will tear you apart echo are you in there don't forget you
04:29didn't come back here to die in front of him you need to attend tonight's media premium fine and if
04:35that person really matters this much to you owe him an explanation what if the explanation comes too
04:39late it's still better than never coming no public identity his team scrubbed the records clean but
04:44there's one opening echo keeps dodging questions about the town like he's avoiding someone from his past
04:48he's not avoiding someone from his past he's afraid of an old lover then dig that person out for me
04:52i changed the opening sequence why because your work doesn't tell its story by chronology but by
04:58emotional wounds these works weren't originally about fame loneliness or mystery they've been
05:03waiting for an answer do you always read paintings like this no only yours echo the two boys repeated
05:10in your work are they from your own romantic history no personal questions today then at least answer
05:15this are these paintings dedicated to someone yes they are for someone i couldn't hold on to
05:22what you said out there was it true what do you think i think every time you say things like
05:30that you're not answering the press you're speaking to one specific person echo why do you affect me like
05:36this you can read this i don't know why but i can't walk away from your work then don't double
05:46the fee
05:47move faster i want his real identity and i want it now eli are you curating him or are you
05:51falling for him
06:00this wall has to stay empty a blank wall will break the emotional flow for the audience that's exactly
06:08what i want why because some people stop right there and never move forward the audience isn't
06:16here to experience your personal paralysis they need a complete narrative
06:23complete you think everything gets a complete ending
06:28you always sound like you're trying to provoke me
06:33maybe maybe i just want to see whether you'll finally say something real are you two done at this
06:38rate the first thing to explode won't be the exhibition it'll be the two of you
06:46eli i like you not the kind of like between friends
07:04you came you said you had something to ask
07:09a lot of the places from the town where i grew up are gone now
07:14only rooftops like this still bring me back you know what's strangest
07:21i don't even know you and yet every time i stand next to you it feels like i'm back 10
07:26years ago
07:29i already know you and then i want to be the next time and now i know you're gonna do
07:31it
07:31live here and you know noah
07:35i know you're very passionate about it
07:37but you can see if you're not going to face something real quick
07:52i do know you know you're not going to face what you don't want to face
07:57reach. If it were you, would you disappear without a word too? I'm coming down now. You pull me in,
08:02then say nothing. Do you know how cool that is? Noah. You can't face the press like this. So
08:13you're just going to walk away again? Eli, this is not the time. I'm not talking to you.
08:19What exactly do you take me for? A collaborator. You paint my past, drag back the person I lost,
08:29and then tell me I'm just a collaborator? What do you want to hear? I want the truth.
08:36Some truths, even if I told you, you might not be able to bear them. It's not that you can't
08:41say it,
08:41you won't. The one who looks most like him is the one who refuses to admit him.
08:52At this rate, Eli won't recognize you first. He'll hate you first.
08:59Major identity turning point. So that's what this is. Filter through all of his public activity over
09:06the past 10 years. How deep do you want us to go? Deep enough that I can peel that mask
09:12off layer by layer.
09:26Yes, I know. Someone's touching our private server. Damien?
09:33Do you recognize this?
09:39I did write one, even though I never sent it. Why are you showing it to me now?
09:43Because you make me feel like I'm about to lose the same thing a second time.
09:47Sorry to interrupt your early morning heart to quaint.
09:51What are you doing here? I'm getting more and more curious how many old acquaintances our eco really has.
09:59Too late.
10:13So that's where you've been hiding.
10:17Don't touch the email. It's a phishing attack.
10:20Noah Grayson.
10:33Which one is waiting in this painting?
10:42The one who never turned around.
10:45Then who's the one that keeps being too afraid to turn around?
10:48Maybe they're the same person.
10:51This isn't just a memory painting.
10:53Then what is it?
10:54It's one person staying where he was, waiting for the other to finally face him.
11:00Who are you waiting for?
11:04Someone I thought would never answer.
11:14Someone is deliberately steering the narrative.
11:17Who put this here?
11:18You'd better not know.
11:20I need it faster.
11:20I don't care about the process. I want the results.
11:22I'm trying, but I can't hack into the system.
11:24Then find another way.
11:25After opening nighting, I want to know everything about you.
11:28What if you regret it once you know?
11:29It feels like someone hung his heart on the wall and forced another person to recognize it.
11:36Just give me a little more time.
11:41Noah Grayson found you.
11:52The key light is too cold.
11:55A little colder feels more like loss.
11:58Loss isn't cold.
11:59It's when the light is still on, but it no longer reaches you.
12:06You always say the things I don't dare to say.
12:10Maybe you just project yourself too easily onto my work.
12:14And you?
12:16Who are you projecting into every painting?
12:19Someone who should never have been forgotten.
12:22Why does every painting feel like it was made for the same person?
12:26Because they were.
12:28Do you realize what you just said?
12:30I'm talking about the work.
12:33But what I heard wasn't just about the work.
12:35The media confirmed tomorrow night's preview live stream.
12:38Echo, you need to leave.
12:40Got it.
12:45That didn't look like curating.
12:47It's a strange feeling.
12:49I've started Envy the person he has painted for ten years.
13:01You're still here?
13:03I still have things to revise.
13:08You've been strange lately.
13:10Ever since Echo showed up, you haven't looked at me the way you used to.
13:14Damien, there was never a that way to begin with.
13:23Envy the person he has painted for ten years.
13:27You said too much last night.
13:29I know.
13:31I didn't come back just to retreat again.
13:39I'm in love with you, so I can't keep watching you get this close to him.
13:46That's my business.
13:47You don't get to tell me what to do.
13:48Then stay away from Echo.
13:55Fine.
13:57I hope you won't regret today's choice over a man in a mask.
14:15Sorry, have we met somewhere before?
14:18No.
14:18But your eyes really look like someone I used to know.
14:22A lot of people say that.
14:25Right this way.
14:26The media area needs one more photo of you.
14:31What are you hiding from?
14:34I just don't like being studied by strangers.
14:37But that didn't look like fear of a stranger.
14:39The investors would love to meet our star artist.
14:45If he finds out it's me, will he still go silent?
14:54You've been off all night?
14:56You're overthinking.
14:57If you really have nothing to do with my past,
14:59why do you look ready to run every time someone mentions before?
15:02So this is where you've been hiding.
15:04Something you need?
15:05Just a reminder, the press is looking for Echo.
15:08Of course, some people may be looking for more than just Echo.
15:17This series should move a little deeper inside.
15:23Why?
15:25Because this shouldn't be the first place people see.
15:28You say that like you've actually been there.
15:29Of course I've been there.
15:33East district of the old town, behind the abandoned water tower,
15:37through the alley, barely wide enough for one person,
15:39up three flights of rusted stairs.
15:42And there's a cracked cement platform on top.
15:50How do you paint this place exactly as it was?
15:54Art doesn't need to explain every source.
15:57Stop hiding.
16:00That place, other than me,
16:02only one other person knew.
16:10Who are you?
16:12Echo, the media vans arrived early.
16:15Looks like I came at an interesting time.
16:18Finish what you were about to say.
16:23The harder a man hides,
16:24the more valuable the face behind the mask must be.
16:31Echo, is your refusal to show your face
16:34part of your artistic philosophy,
16:35or are you hiding something?
16:37A real artist usually doesn't need to hide a mask.
16:40This is an interview,
16:41not a personal provocation.
16:43Unless what some people are selling
16:45was never the work, but the secret.
16:51That's enough.
16:53Did I say something untrue?
16:55The contract permits anonymity.
16:57The curation supports anonymity.
16:59If you can't tell the difference
17:01between professionalism and humiliation,
17:03leave the floor now.
17:05You humiliated me in public for him?
17:07You crossed the line first.
17:09You really are protective of him.
17:15Don't pay attention to him.
17:22If you're so determined to protect him,
17:25I want you to move tonight.
17:27Hack Maeve's private email.
17:30I'm not asking for a risk assessment.
17:32I want the truth.
17:47Lift the left side a little.
17:53I keep dreaming about him lately.
17:58Who?
18:02That boy who disappeared.
18:06In the dream,
18:07he's still 17,
18:09standing on the rooftop,
18:10looking at me like
18:11he's waiting for me to say something.
18:13Maybe he really is.
18:15If he came back,
18:18would I still have the right to explain?
18:21Some people aren't waiting for an explanation.
18:24Then what are they waiting for?
18:26Courage.
18:29So it really is you.
18:31That line?
18:33It sounds like something he would say.
18:35Maybe you just miss him too much.
18:38Echo,
18:38I need you backstage right now.
18:43What did they get?
18:49Not everything yet,
18:50but enough.
18:53Damien.
18:54No one else would do this
18:55right before the opening.
18:57Some people aren't waiting for an explanation,
18:59but
19:00courage.
19:03Where did you get that line you said earlier?
19:07It came to me,
19:08so I said it.
19:09But it sounded like it was meant for me.
19:11Maybe some words were always meant for you.
19:20You two look deeply engaged.
19:24Don't look at me like that.
19:25I'm in a very good mood tonight.
19:27Stay away from him.
19:31Too late.
19:39Noah Grayson.
19:41No need.
19:42On opening night,
19:43I'll make everyone watch the show together.
19:48If anything happens tomorrow,
19:50you leave immediately.
19:52This time,
19:52I don't want to run.
20:00We can still cancel your public appearance.
20:05No.
20:07You know how high the risk is tonight.
20:09I've already run once.
20:10I'm not running again.
20:13Then at least promise me this.
20:15Whatever happens,
20:16don't carry it alone.
20:23It's not the mystery.
20:24It's that there's someone in those paintings
20:26who has been silent for a long time,
20:28but
20:29never truly left.
20:38When tomorrow night is over,
20:39I want to know everything about you.
20:43What if you regret it once you know?
20:45Then that should still be my choice.
20:53Don't leave me outside the door again.
21:02After the opening,
21:03I'll tell you.
21:15I guess you'd still be here.
21:20For the first time since this was hung,
21:22I feel like it's finally complete.
21:25Because the exhibition is finally complete?
21:28Because I finally know what I need to do after tomorrow.
21:34What?
21:37Tell you the truth.
21:44Because some answers should be spoken after everything is over.
21:49What if I say I don't want to wait anymore?
21:52Just one more night.
21:54Okay.
22:01Tomorrow night,
22:03everyone will see it with their own eyes.
22:07Is there an issue with the back-down access?
22:11Damn it.
22:14After tomorrow night ends,
22:16I'm coming to find you.
22:18I'll wait for you.
22:22The countdown has started.
22:38Welcome to Echo's opening night.
22:44Who is Noah Grayson?
23:11This isn't how it was.
23:17Looks like the secret revealed itself tonight.
23:24Don't touch him!
23:29It's him!
23:30We got him!
23:31Eli.
23:33So it really was you.
23:49Mr. Grayson,
23:50why did you hide your identity?
23:51What exactly is the relationship
23:53between Echo and Noah Grayson?
23:55Was this a carefully staged deception?
24:07Eli.
24:09Why?
24:10I wasn't trying to deceive you.
24:12Not trying?
24:14You stood in front of me every day.
24:17Heard everything I said.
24:19Watched me chase my own past like a madman.
24:22You'd rather wear a mask than say my name even once?
24:25When I came back,
24:26I thought you didn't need me anymore.
24:29So you made that decision for me?
24:32Back off!
24:33Everyone back off!
24:36Do you know what's most ridiculous?
24:38I almost believed you again.
24:39Leave now.
24:41Right now.
24:42The car is waiting at the side exit.
24:44I ruined everything again.
24:46Our collaboration ends here.
24:47The artist behind the million-dollar Echo masks
24:50has finally been unmasked.
24:57Effective immediately,
24:58the gallery is terminating all collaboration
25:00with Noah Grayson and the Echo brand.
25:04This is the only way to contain the damage.
25:09Go make the announcement to the press.
25:16Eli signed the termination.
25:18Okay.
25:19You're not even going to fight it?
25:21The way he looked at me last night said everything.
25:25The gallery respects art,
25:27and it respects the public's right to know.
25:29As for Echo's hidden identity,
25:31we had no prior knowledge.
25:34He's washing his hands clean.
25:36Let him.
25:47You look like you didn't survive the night.
25:49I was deceived by the one person
25:50who should never have deceived me.
25:52Or maybe it was someone most afraid of losing you
25:54who didn't know how to return.
25:56If that's the reason,
25:57why not say a single word?
25:58I'm not leaving.
26:03Why didn't you say a single word?
26:05You left for ten years!
26:06And even when you came back,
26:08this is what you do to me!
26:16I'm not leaving.
26:18You've only remembered that he left,
26:19but you never really looked at what he left behind.
26:27When was this?
26:28After graduation night.
26:30He came by the house the next day.
26:32You weren't there.
26:32He left this behind.
26:34He came back for me?
26:37Some people don't leave on purpose.
26:39They just believe no one would ask them to stay.
26:48I don't want the mask anymore.
26:49Then what do you want?
26:51I want to answer once.
26:53With my real name.
27:02If you don't hate me,
27:03come find me.
27:15This time,
27:16I won't leave you waiting alone.
27:21Call the print workshop.
27:23Did you name it?
27:26Answer.
27:30No one hasn't released any public statement.
27:32What is he planning?
27:33Maybe this time,
27:34he doesn't want to rely on explanations.
27:40This isn't a commercial job.
27:42This is a ten-year-late answer.
27:54Are you sure about this?
27:56Yes.
27:58This time,
27:58I won't use the name Echo.
28:01I'll answer as Noah Grayson.
28:16I'm asking that question again with my real name,
28:19ten years later.
28:30Mr. Grayson,
28:31is this your public response?
28:33Who are you speaking to?
28:34Do you realize this could cause even more controversy?
28:39But some things shouldn't stay hidden anymore.
28:51I'm asking that question again with my real name,
28:54ten years later.
28:54Mr. Eli?
28:56Cancel everything on my schedule.
28:57But the board meeting,
28:59cancel all of it.
29:23Step back.
29:25Give them space.
29:32So you weren't forcing an answer from me.
29:37I just wanted you to know the question is still there.
29:40And so is the choice.
29:48That night,
29:49it wasn't that I didn't want to answer.
29:52I simply couldn't believe someone could love me like that.
29:58I thought you deserved someone better.
30:01Police are here!
30:09Noah,
30:10this time,
30:11you don't have to wait for me.
30:13This time,
30:14I'm not running.
30:17No matter what your answer is,
30:19my silence back then wasn't rejection.
30:23I was afraid.
30:25Afraid I didn't deserve a love like yours.
30:31Will you still take it?
30:33That answer is very,
30:35very late.
30:36I will.
30:38Damien Hall?
30:39Yes.
30:40What is this about?
30:41You are suspected of illegally obtaining private information,
30:44hacking private email accounts,
30:45and orchestrating public defamation.
30:47You need to come with us for questioning.
30:51Surprised?
30:55It was you.
30:57I told you not to touch what wasn't yours.
31:03This is a misunderstanding.
31:08You illegally obtained Noah's identity records,
31:12hacked my private email,
31:14manipulated the opening night control system,
31:16and orchestrated a deliberate public humiliation.
31:19I gave you time to stop at every step.
31:22You chose not to.
31:24You're not seriously taking their side,
31:26are you?
31:30It's not their side.
31:32You crossed the line a long time ago.
31:35As of now,
31:37all your permissions at the gallery are revaked.
31:39That includes management authority,
31:41financial access,
31:42and all project attribution rights.
31:44So the gallery is officially cutting ties with Damien?
31:47Mr. Eli,
31:48do you admit the gallery mishandled the eco situation?
31:50I admit the real mistake wasn't that someone wore a mask.
31:54It was that someone used another person's wounds as chips to win.
31:57If it weren't for him,
31:59you would never have walked away from me.
32:03I was never on your side to begin with.
32:05Mr. Grayson,
32:06will you continue working under the name Echo?
32:13Yes, I guess that's a misurious sex, sir.
32:19No.
32:21But for the road ahead,
32:22I want to walk it under my real name.
32:26What is the relationship between the two of you now?
32:29We're the people each of us found far too late.
32:32But last,
32:33not too late to lose each other.
32:46Welcome back.
32:53It's a new beginning for my silence 10 years ago.
32:57I should apologize too for keeping you outside the mask for so long and for the hesitation,
33:03anger and hurtful things.
33:07Congratulations,
33:08you two bosses.
33:09You don't sound very congratulatory.
33:11Because I know the real challenge isn't the media.
33:13It's the two of you finally making decisions together.
33:16So you finally admit it.
33:19I'll admit that.
33:21What are you painting this time?
33:25Two people.
33:30But not from the back this time.
33:33Then where are they looking?
33:40The same direction.
33:44This time,
33:46will you run again?
33:48No.
33:50Because this time,
33:52you're finally by my side.
33:53You're going to be doing it.
33:57You're going to be doing it.
33:58You're going to be doing it.
34:03You're going to be doing it.
34:03You're going to be doing it.
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