old black and white footage, taken from up high, of two 19th century men leading a horse drawn cart full of poached orchids.
teenaged laroche and his mother tromp through the swamp. he carries a camera on a tripod. they spot a beautiful flower. laroche is in awe.
black and white. it's dark, tangled with foliage, and foreboding. two pioneers slog waist-high through the water. alligators regard them menacingly.
subtitle: fakahatchee, one hundred and fifteen years earlier
subtitle: fakahatchee, one-hundred and three years earlier
black and white shot of laroche and the indians slogging through fakahatchee. the camera swoops down and the scene turns into a mannequin version.
orlean walks through alone, panicked. all the vegetation is greener and crazier-looking than we've seen before. things slither by in the water, brush up against her.
the sun is hot. laroche is twenty feet ahead of orlean. she watches him march forward with great authority. she massages her eyebrows, leaving a residue of dirt on her face.
laroche leads the way. there's a sadness, a sense of defeat and humiliation that he tries to conceal. orlean is stony.
laroche and orlean slog through the water with purpose, looking only straight ahead. as they walk the sounds and colors become subdued. soon there is silence.
laroche leads orlean through the swamp. he spots something on a tree, circles it, and stands there, awestruck. orlean comes around and sees a beautiful ghost orchid hanging from the tree.