COMPOSERS
We are now in Brooklyn, New York, in the mid 1990’s. We meet a new family: Aaron, his wife Tamara, their son Slava, and their younger daughter Katja. Slava is an old friend of Yasha. They were in the band together back in Ukraine, but had a falling out. In America, the two have reconciled somewhat, but their friendship was never the same.
The family has limited means. Back in the USSR, Seagulls was a very popular band, and Aaron longs for the days when he had both fame and wealth. In America, he is nobody. He is another immigrant struggling to make ends meet, unknown and forgotten. Aaron spends most of his days watching TV and dreaming about his band’s comeback. He can barely complete simple household tasks, like mowing the lawn or taking out the garage. Meanwhile, his son Slava also has aspirations to become a musician. And Aaron does find the energy to mentor his son, to teach him how to become a better musician. If only Slava would listen.
Tamara keeps warning Aaron to let Slava be – Aaron will only push Slava further away. But now it’s Aaron who won’t listen. Bombarded by constant and unsolicited advice, Slava begins to resent his father. As Tamara had predicted, this dynamic only pushes father and son apart. When arguments escalate, Slava’s girlfriend Marie is often called to mitigate. Tamara appreciates Marie’s ability to be a positive influence on both the father and son.
Tamara was also a musician and singer in the Seagulls. After immigrating to America, she gave up her musician ambitions. Someone had to make money, take care of the children, and keep the household from coming apart. While Aaron was wallowing in the past, someone had to take action, and as it happens in many immigrant families, it had to be the woman. Tamara supports her son’s musical aspirations, but she struggles accepting Aaron’s nostalgic ambitions.
Slava is in a band called Dirty Paris. The band members include Tom, a solo guitarist, Rob the drummer, and Slava on the keyboards. Locally, the band is very popular in large part due to Marie, the lead vocalist. Marie is also the one of the reasons for the rift between Slava and Yasha, and Yasha leaving the band. It was impossible not to notice how much attention Yasha was paying to Marie.
Dirty Paris’s style is a unique mix of techno, garage band, and progressive music sound, influenced by German electronic music and by Aaron’s old Soviet pop sensibilities. When the band performs, crowds gather. Even Aaron attends on occasions and takes photos with his old camera. It reminds him of his old Seagulls days.
Aaron is witnessing his son’s rise to popularity in their small community. He is supportive, but it stirs in him the desire to rebuild Seagulls and regain his past glory. But this is an expensive dream. Tamara hopes that Aaron will lose interest in rebuilding his band, but Aaron does not seem to let go. At a local restaurant, Aaron meets Sergey, who used to also be an entertainer in the USSR. Over Vodka, they discuss Aarons’ musical ambitions, and for the right price, Sergey is willing to help.
Against Tamara’s will, Aaron begins to fund and rebuild his band. This is when we learn that Aaron is in early stages of Parkinson’s disease, but he pursues his dream despite it, or maybe because he knows his time is limited. The only member of his family who is willing to help him is Katja. Tamara is vehemently against it. In fact, she feels that Aaron is being selfish and wasteful with their limited family resources. After all, Tamara is the primary breadwinner, and she feels it is her decision how to spend their money.
Tamara finds out how much money Aarond had given to Sergey to rebuild the band. The conflict between her and Aaron comes to blows. That night, Aaron has a dream. In the dream, he is back in his glory days. Seagulls are on stage and there is cheering and loud applause from the audience. The band members are dressed in blue jackets adorned with feathers and blue masks with beaks. They prance around the stage. From the back, Tamara appears. She is wearing a sequin dress and holding her violin. She emanates so much light. Aaron can barely look at her. She is so young and beautiful. And he is young and handsome himself. Aaron is awakened by the sound of dishes rattling in the kitchen.
Aaron is making some progress rebuilding Seagulls. He finds a few older musicians, fans of Seagulls, fellow immigrants. They bond over their nostalgia for the “good old days.” But during his most recent doctor’s appointment, Aaron learns that his Parkinson’s is progressing rapidly.
The following evening, during family dinner, Tamara feeling sorry for her husband, says that Aaron is a very talented musician. Slava tries to hide a smirk. Marie notices it and asks Slava to play his latest song. Slava is aware of his father’s condition, and in a moment of compassion, asks Aaron to play. Aaron is happy to agree, and when he begins to play, Slava joins him at the piano and they play with four hands.
Marie tells Slava’s family that she has been invited to sing at a popular music festival on Coney Island and Slava’s band Dirty Paris will back her. The festival draws large crowds and Marie is a huge success. This could be a big break for Dirty Paris. Aaron, Tamara, and Katja attend the festival as well. Aaron is backstage taking pictures and videos of the performance. After the show, Aaron tries to show the video to Slava and gives him advice on what he could improve. Slava is angry – he doesn’t want his father’s advice. What does this oldtimer know anyway?
Randy, the band’s manager interrupts. He wants to introduce Slava to “important people'' backstage. Aaron warns Slava not to trust Randy, but Randy laughs at Aaron and says “I hear Seagulls is a cage these days.” Aaron leaves. His ego is insulted but it only strengthens his resolve to rebuild his band.
Randy tells Slava and Marie that he has booked them on a tour. Excited, Slava and Marie plan the trip, even though some of Aaron’s promises sound suspicious. Before they leave, Marie gives Tamara a parting gift - a pair of Alpaca slippers she had knitted herself.
Dirty Paris heads on their tour, playing on stages in New Jersey, Connecticut, and other east coast areas. Of course, it is far from Randy promised: small venues, few ticket sales, and barely any money coming in. This creates tensions within the band. Relationships suffer due to money problems, bad weather, flat tires, and individual egos. The band becomes disorganized and depressed. During their last performance in front of a small crowd they are out of sync and are booed off stage.
Dirty Paris’s situation goes from bad to worse when the band’s van is robbed and all their equipment is taken. Tom and Rob are ready to leave the band. Randy tries to convince them to stick it out. Slava and Marie decide to continue on their own, desperate to make it work.
Back home, Tamara and Aaron worry about Slava and Marie. The kids have been unusually quiet which tips the parents off that the tour must not be going well. Aaron even considers going to look for Slava, but Tamara tells him that the kids are now adults and that they were in their shoes once as well.
Tamara has a change of heart. She decides to help Aaron to rebuild Seagulls. Aaron is old, and ill, and this could be his last chance to perform. She wants him to have it. Aaron, Tamaras, and Katja head to a restaurant on Brooklyn beach to meet with Sergey. There, they run into Yasha with his family, sitting in a booth near the entrance. Yasha’s sister Vera is a waitress there. Vera leads Aaron, Tamara, and Katja to a booth in the back next to a private room. Yasha and Katja exchange looks. Yasha smiles. In the private room, Sergey is performing. During a break, Vera brings Sergey to Aaron’s table to discuss what needs to be done for a The Seagulls reunion concert to happen.
Back on the road, in a cheap motel, Slava sits on the edge of a bed as Marie explains to him why they should not have trusted Randy, and that Slava should have listened to his father. Slava becomes angry and rude. He tells Marie to leave him alone and go with the rest of the band. But Marie will not abandon him, she quietly sits next to Slava and wraps her arm around him. The wind slams the door shut.
In Brooklyn, Tamara is finishing last minute preparations for the reunion concert. The stage manager comes in and tells her that the ticket sales have been great. Meanwhile, Aaron and the band step onto the stage, blinded by the lights of the projectors. Aaron looks into the audience. He sees a few faces scattered around the room, reddish from the reflection of the EXIT signs, and a vast amount of dark empty space in between.
Aaron collects himself and sits at the piano. He hits the first few keys and remembers that he is a performer, a musician, and this is his lifeblood. He plays with all his heart, in this moment, not the past, not the future, only now. In the now, the music flows. Tamara steps onto the stage holding her violin. Sure, she is not young like she was twenty-five years, but she is strong and confident, she is his best friend, his life companion, and the core that keeps him together. They smile at each other – whatever the future holds, they are grateful for this moment.
We hear sparse applause from the audience. Tamara pays Sergey and the rest of the band, and steps outside with Aaron, as the door of the venue is locked behind them. Aaron looks pale and tired, older than before. Tamara helps her husband to the car. They arrive at a small roadside motel where they will be spending the night.
Aaron wakes up in the middle of the night. Tamara is sleeping next to him, snoring lightly. Slowly, Aaron gets up and walks outside wearing nothing but his blue pajamas. He walks barefoot along the road leading away from the motel. We can see his thin, blue, slouching figure walking into the darkness. Aaron is confused and disoriented, but he keeps walking until he hears a car honk. It’s Tamara. She stops the car and Aaron gets inside, shivering and shaking. Tamara covers him with her coat and looks at him with worry.
The following day, at dinner, Aaron does not eat. He keeps talking about going to find Slava. Tamara urges him to eat, but Aaron is not listening. In the bathroom, Tamara looks at herself in the mirror and begins to sob. It’s all coming down on her – her ailing husband, her son she hasn’t heard from, the neverending money problems. Tamara makes a decision. Once again, she will do what she can to make her husband happy.
Tamara packs their things while Aaron sits silently on the hotel bed. His face is expressionless. Tamara tries to talk to him, even shakes him, but he does not respond. Aaron and Tamara get into the car. Tamara is driving, now and then, she looks over at Aaron who is still silent and withdrawn. They pull into a gas station, Tamara walks to a payphone, while Aaron stays in the car. We hear Tamara’s voice. She is talking to Tom. She hangs up and dials again. When she gets back into the car, she looks at Aaron. “Say something,” she begs him. But he doesn’t, and she starts the car. Her foot in alpaca slippers presses the gas pedal.
They drive on an empty road. Aaron’s face and posture do not change. There is a restaurant up ahead and when they drive up to it they see that the flickering sign above its door reads “The Seagulls.” They pull into the parking lot, Marie runs out of the restaurant, and as Tamara steps out of the car, Marie gives her a tight hug. Marie is wearing a loose dress. Could she be pregnant? Slowly, Tamara helps Aaron out of the car and they walk into The Seagulls restaurant.
We hear piano music. Aaron sits down quietly and observes the man playing the piano on stage. It is Slava. There are few cheers and whistles from the audience. Slava squints, looks into the audience smiling, and notices Aaron in the chair. Slava walks off the stage toward his father. He helps Aaron get up and leads him to the stage. Slava sits his father at the piano next to him. Marie adjusts the microphone, Slava puts his hands on the keys, but Aaron remains motionless.
Slava begins to play - it’s a The Seagulls song we have heard earlier in the film. The audience comes closer to the stage, and begins to move with the music. We begin to move away from the stage, slowly, inch by inch, until we are at the EXIT sign, and then through the door outside, then we begin to rise above ground, higher and higher, and eventually all we see is the flickering The Seagulls sign below. Before the ground disappears from view, we hear louds applause.
(End)