Daily Dialogue — April 27, 2015

Korben Dallas: You in charge?
Fog: (nervously) Yeah.
Korben Dallas: How many of them are there?
Fog: I..I dunno.

Korben trades places with Fog and peaks around the corner.

Korben Dallas: Seven on the left, five on the right.

Korben shoots across the lineup of Mangalores, then ducks back around the wall.

Korben Dallas: Three on the right, two on the left. We need to find the leader. Mangalores won’t fight without the leader.
Aknot: One more shot, and we start killing hostages!
Korben Dallas: That’s the leader.
Aknot: Send someone to negotiate.
Fog: Uh, I, I, I…I’ve never negotiated.
Korben Dallas: Do you mind if I try?
Fog: No, no, sure, sure. Sorry. [shouting] We’re sending somebody in to negotiate!

Corben walks into the room and shoots Aknot between the eyes.

Korben Dallas: Anybody else want to negotiate?
Fog: Wh-wh-wh-where did he learn to negotiate like that?
President Lindberg: I wonder.

— The Fifth Element (1997), screenplay by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, story by Luc Besson

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Stammer. Today’s suggestion by Will King.

Trivia: Luc Besson wrote the original screenplay when he was in high school.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Will King: “The use of nervous stammer in this scene establishes the relative strengths between Dallas and Fog. Both are in the same situation, both stressed from battle, but Korben remains confident in speech while Fog stammers under duress.”