"As the threesome (Mathayus, Arpid, and the Sorceress) journeyed through the desert, they came upon Philos, who had presumably run away from Gomorrah.A leopard leaps from a rock outcropping and pounces on an unsuspecting and defenseless ape, screeching for his life.They poured through and stampeded up the stairs to ""battle for"" first-come, first-serve mezzanine-balcony seats for the ballet performance that would begin in 45 minutes.He is existentially lost.Through a rainy taxicab windshield, we see he rainy, slick streets, an allegorical underworld vision composed of hustlers and derelicts, and a foreshadowing of the future tone of the film.