Halfway there: the cable car slams to a stop with a clunk.
Everyone is startled. The stalled vehicle sways in the quiet wind. The father looks up. The mother looks down. The children look to each other. In the distance: there is a faint, mechanical hum. M. Gustave and Zero look out.
Another cable car is ascending at a diagonal on a different line. They all watch as it slowly approaches. Just as it is about to criss-cross their path, it slams to a stop, too.
Another elderly, cloaked Monk stares out from inside the other cable car. He is alone in the vehicle. He studies M. Gustave and Zero for a moment, frowning. He whispers loudly:
MONK 2
Are you M. Gustave of the Grand Budapest Hotel in Nebelsbad?
M. GUSTAVE
(hesitates)
Uh-huh.
MONK 2
Switch with me.
The Monk unlatches the door of his cable car and opens it. The family watch nervously as M. Gustave and Zero stand up, rocking the vehicle, open their own door, and carefully exit. They reluctantly lunge across the precarious abyss. The Monk changes places with them. There is another clunk, and the two cable cars resume their journeys.
M. Gustave and Zero exchange a look. Their new cable car continues up toward its destination. A sign above the arrival platform reads: ‘Our Holy Father of the Sudetenwaltz’. Directly below it, there is a walled fort with a steeple and a tall stone cross.
Another tramway attendant holds the door open for them as they disembark.
EXT. MONASTERY. DAY
M. Gustave and Zero walk down a staircase and through the front gate into an empty churchyard. There are walls and low buildings on the sides, a few graves in the middle, and the entrance to a church at one end. Pause.
A small window swings open next to M. Gustave and Zero. Another elderly, cloaked Monk stares out from inside a caretaker’s booth. He studies them for a moment, frowning. He whispers:
MONK 3
Are you M. Gustave of the Grand Budapest Hotel in Nebelsbad?
M. GUSTAVE
(hesitates)
Uh-huh.
MONK 3
Put these on and sing.
The Monk thrusts a small bundle into M. Gustave’s hands. It consists of: two cloaks and two hymnals. The echoing sound of a Gregorian chant begins to rise from all around. M. Gustave and Zero swiftly slip on the cloaks just as a procession of a hundred monks enters from two directions, merges in the churchyard, and advances double-file toward the chapel.
M. Gustave and Zero open their hymnals at random and slip into the procession.
INT. CHURCH. DAY
A blasting organ joins the chant inside a vast, austere hall as the procession enters. The Monks file into pews. The music ends, and the room goes silent. Everyone kneels. The monsignor at the altar places his hands on a thick Bible and speaks Latin.
A voice behind M. Gustave and Zero says:
MONK 4
Psst.
M. Gustave and Zero turn around. Another elderly, cloaked monk kneels on a kneeler behind them with his hands folded in prayer. He studies them for a moment, frowning. He whispers:
MONK 4
Are you M. Gustave of the –
M. GUSTAVE
(irritated)
Yes, dammit.
MONK 4
Confess.
M. Gustave looks deeply offended and flabbergasted. He snaps:
M. GUSTAVE
I’m innocent.
MONK 4
(annoyed)
No, no.
The Monk points to a confessional booth in the transept.
M. Gustave hesitates. He nods, realizing. He and Zero look down the row of kneeling legs. They step up onto the pew, slink quickly in a crouch to the aisle, then hop down to the floor. Monks, watching them, frown.
M. Gustave and Zero hurry together into the confessional booth and close the door.
INT. CONFESSIONAL. DAY
A dark, wooden box lined with purple velvet. It is a bit tight for two. A panel slides open. Through the lattice screen: Serge has aged a decade. His eyes are watery and dim. He whispers immediately, reverent:
SERGE
Forgive me, M. Gustave. I never meant to betray you. They threatened my life, and now they’ve murdered my only family.
M. GUSTAVE
(frustrated)
No! Who’d they kill this time?
SERGE
(deeply wounded)
My dear sister.
M. GUSTAVE
(trying to picture her)
The girl with the club-foot?
SERGE
Yes.
M. GUSTAVE
Those fuckers.
SERGE
I tried to warn you. At the beginning.
M. GUSTAVE
I know, darling. Let’s put that behind us. Listen: I hate to put you on the spot, but I really must ask you to clear my name. Obviously, you’re grieving, and if I had any other –
SERGE
There’s more.
M. GUSTAVE
(hesitates)
OK.
SERGE
To the story.
M. GUSTAVE
I get it. Go on.
SERGE
I was the official witness in Madame D.’s presence to the creation of a second will to be executed only in the event of her death by murder.
M. GUSTAVE
A second will.
SERGE
Right.
M. GUSTAVE
In case she got bumped off.
SERGE
Right.
M. GUSTAVE
Uh-huh?
SERGE
But they destroyed it.
M. GUSTAVE
Oh, dear.
SERGE
However.
M. GUSTAVE
Uh-huh?
SERGE
I pulled a copy.
M. GUSTAVE
(beat)
A second copy of the second will.
SERGE
Right.
M. GUSTAVE
Uh-huh?
Long pause. M. Gustave finally starts to lose his composure. His voice rises:
M. GUSTAVE
Well, what does it say? Where is it? What’s it all about, dammit? Don’t keep us in suspense, Serge. This has been a complete fucking nightmare. Just tell us what the fuck is going on!
The panel snaps shut. M. Gustave and Zero frown. The organ blasts again outside the confessional, and the church booms with low, eerie, singing voices. M. Gustave tries to jerk the panel open, but it sticks. He bangs on it with his fists.
M. GUSTAVE
Serge? Serge? Serge!
M. Gustave tries the door. It is locked. Zero peers at the keyhole and says shortly:
ZERO
Give me the pass-keys.
M. Gustave hesitates. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his ring of Grand Budapest pass keys. Zero rapidly flips through them, studying each key. He settles on one, inserts it into the keyhole, jiggles it, and twists. The lock clicks.
Cut to:
M. Gustave and Zero jumping out from the confessional booth. Zero darts to the other side and cracks open the other door. He peeks in and sees:
Serge with a bloody garrote-wire strung around his neck. His eyes are wide open, and his tongue sticks out slightly.