TAGLINE:  “Garlic Resistance: One clove can spark a revolution.”

 

TREATMENT

 

Title: Garlic Resistance

Genre: Musical Drama / Folk-Fantasy / Rural Resistance

Length: 60 minutes

Tone: Lyrical, Mythic, Politically Charged, Whimsical, Fierce

 

Logline:

In the garlic fields of Vermont, a farming community rises up against Big Red, a ruthless agricultural tyrant bent on corporate domination. Through garlic-powered resilience, unlikely heroes — including a farmer’s daughter, a poet, and a fearless child — unite their voices in song to defend their soil, their culture, and their souls.

 

Synopsis:

Set in a heightened folk-Americana universe where garlic is sacred and farming is both craft and creed, Garlic Resistance is a sung-through musical that traces a grassroots rebellion against Big Red Henderson — a symbolic villain of corporate greed and ecological destruction. Told through a series of ballads, laments, and anthems, the film follows:

    •    Hardneck Harry and Harriet, who resist Big Red’s land grabs.

    •    Amos King and his daughter Sassy, protectors of ancient garlic wisdom.

    •    Molly, a young journalist and poet, documenting the revolution.

    •    Mickey Barnes, her conflicted lover caught between pacifism and protest.

    •    Old Hecate, the smuggler sage.

    •    And Little Sassy King, who becomes the face of the resistance in the film’s climax.

 

The narrative builds from pastoral beauty (Golden Cloves) to terror (Big Red’s Rant) to unity (Green Mountain Pride), culminating in a communal uprising that topples Big Red’s regime (Big Red’s Downfall) and ends with a triumphant yet cautious celebration (Victory’s Harvest).

 

The film blends magical realism, protest folk traditions, and rustic fantasy aesthetics to tell a story of resistance, heritage, and the soul-saving power of garlic.

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SHOOTING SCRIPT OUTLINE (SONG ORDER & STORY ARC)

 

ACT 1 – SEEDS OF RESISTANCE

    1.    Golden Cloves – Opening montage of garlic farming and Vermont landscapes.

    2.    Big Red – Introduction of the antagonist, Big Red Henderson.

    3.    Garlic Garland – Origin myth of garlic as protection.

    4.    Aglio Amore Mio – Love song to garlic; establishes food as sacred culture.

    5.    Harry and Harriet – Tension rises as Big Red threatens landowners.

    6.    Green Mountain Pride – First act of communal resistance.

    7.    Hardneck Harry’s Funeral – Martyrdom of a folk hero.

 

ACT 2 – THE RISE OF THE UNDERGROUND

    8.    The Restless Quill – Molly arrives, investigating and documenting.

    9.    Wars Start in the Kitchen – Resistance planning around food.

    10.    Big Red’s Rant – Escalation of Red’s control and madness.

    11.    What Is Life Without Garlic? – Philosophical/artistic interlude.

    12.    The Farmer’s Daughter – Emily’s encounter with a vampire, folklore deepens.

    13.    Big Red and Sassy King – Sassy King’s brave confrontation.

 

ACT 3 – THE PEOPLE’S HARVEST

    14.    Hecate and the Garlic Smuggler – Cross-border garlic supply mission.

    15.    Restless Spirit – Molly’s emotional reckoning.

    16.    Love in July – Reconciliation and love’s role in resistance.

    17.    Fields of Tomorrow – Exposé of corporate encroachment.

    18.    Big Red’s Downfall – Uprising led by children and townsfolk.

    19.    Victory’s Harvest – Celebration with caution; the revolution continues.

 

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PRODUCTION DETAILS

 

Visual Style:

    •    Cinematic rural realism meets stylized magical folklore (like O Brother, Where Art Thou? meets The Secret of Roan Inish)

    •    Lush wide shots of fields, close-ups of hands, garlic bulbs, sweat, and soil

    •    Song performances are diegetic or stylized performances within grounded reality

 

Casting Ideas:

    •    Strong singer-actors with folk, protest, or Americana credibility

    •    Consider real-life farmers, activists, or musicians for authenticity

    •    Children and elders play key symbolic roles

 

Locations:

    •    Rural Vermont farms, town halls, shadowy pine forests, kitchen interiors

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Hybrid Style Concept

 

Live-action foundation:

Most scenes are grounded in real agricultural and town settings using your actors in choreographed, expressive movement. This keeps things authentic and emotionally resonant.

 

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Visual Style Inspirations

    1.    Waltz with Bashir – Rotoscoped realism meets psychological animation.

    2.    Loving Vincent – Painted, emotional scenes for memory or myth.

    3.    Scanner Darkly – Rotoscoped urban paranoia.

    4.    The Secret of Kells – Flat, folk-art style great for song interludes.

    5.    Days of Heaven – Natural light and wide field shots for live action.

    6.    Beasts of the Southern Wild – Grassroots, poetic realism with magical overlay.

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