Five, four...
three, two, one...
Fortunately for you, I cannot shoot you.
I need you. But, Marie, there is no escape from me.
The tide is rising
and only I can get you to safety,
because only I have the light.
I have tried tenderness. Now, let me try reason.
Your life is in my hands. Just as my life is in yours.
I'm looking for the Sea of Flames.
How do you know about the Sea of Flames?
Your father told me.
You've spoken to my father?
Just tell me where it is.
Tell me he's alive.
I know he's alive.
I hear his voice.
Listen to my voice. Listen to me.
Stay close. It's very crowded. I'm sorry, Marie.
I know it's your birthday, but there's still things I must do. Careful.
- You said we're going on holiday. - We are.
Then why are we in such a hurry?
Because, Marie, sadly the Germans have chosen your birthday to invade Paris.
Excuse me.
What will the Germans do with France?
For the vanity of one man, they'll ransack whole cities and take everything of value.
Here, would you please help me find the key to the dinosaur gallery?
You're much faster than I am.
Come, Marie, we must save what we can and then save ourselves.
There's a crate on your right.
- Daniel! You still want this? - Yes, urgently.
I'll be back as soon as I can.
Sorry I brought you, Marie, but if I left you at the apartment
there's no guarantee that I would have made it back.
They'll close the streets, and impose a curfew.
When the Nazis come to the museum, this is what they'll be looking for first.
- Are we taking these stones with us? - No. Grab a hold.
I'll be giving them to some people that I trust to take them out of Paris.
And what will happen if they are caught?
One last thing.
When we get aboard the train, we'll have cake to celebrate your birthday.
We're heading south to the home of a friend.
What friend?
The kind of friend I can rely on to take care of precious things.
Like you, Marie.
Here, fold that side over for me.
There we are.
Now, the dinosaurs await.
Give me your hand, and off we go.
Make sure you tell them it's urgent.
Daniel, thank God you're back.
The Germans are at the public door.
We told them that we're closed, but I think they're about to blow it in.
Let them in. Make them coffee.
Give them cigarettes. Delay them five minutes.
Give him the key so he can lock every door we came through.
On the way out, pretend you can't find the right key.
People who only use their eyes find it difficult.
You see, she takes very good care of me.
- Where'll you go? - Don't worry, we'll be okay.
Take care of yourself.
Mr. Daly, open the doors and let them in.
- I'll be there straight away. - Tell me what's happening.
I'm using my ten-franc raincoat
to carry diamonds and jewels worth more than half of Paris,
and sending them to Geneva in the head of a Tyrannosaurus rex,
one of the most terrible monsters to walk the face of the Earth
until the coming of the Third Reich.
Come, stay close, there's a column on your right.
Careful, careful. Here.
The Germans are close now. Here. Over here. Stop, stop, stop.
Give me your bag. You're going to sit on the trunk.
Step up. Here.
There you are.
I'm going to run. You'll have to trust me.
- I trust you. - Here we go. Off we go.
I can guarantee you one thing, Marie.
This is one birthday you'll never forget.
What happened then?
There was a truck waiting for the jewels.
I don't know if the one you were looking for was in there.
I do.
Stop lying to me.
I know it was not with the others.
Your father kept it for himself. He gave it to you. Where is it?
Where is my father?
Marie, there's something you should know.
It is your father's fault you went blind.
The Sea of Flames is blessed, but it's also cursed.
The loved ones of its owner are struck with terrible afflictions.
Your darkness was a gift from your precious Papa.
Corporal Pfennig.
Once again, the bombing is being carefully directed and targeted.
I came here to see if you had intercepted any transmissions
that might be guiding the bombs.
But I find instead that you're engaged in a bit of...
housekeeping!
I'm curious. Where is Schmidt?
We... We lost power, a fuse blew, he went looking for a spare one.
I am worried he might have been caught in an explosion.
So worried that you decided to clean the floor.
If the fuse blew, why are the lights on?
And why is the radio working?
I found a spare fuse in the basement.
There was still blood down there. I got some on my boots.
I decided to clean it up.
Look.
Someone is broadcasting.
Let's see what they are saying.
"It's just like old times,
in my office in the Botanical Gardens in Paris,
only..."
"I'd like to know what you mean by a Happy New Year."
A girl.
A girl is broadcasting.
The code is directing the bombs.
But you already knew that, didn't you, Pfennig?
And when Schmidt found out, you killed him. Hmm?
Why?
Gun.
- You're a spy. - No.
Then explain!
I did it to protect a memory.
A place of hope.
The only one the Reich could not destroy.
I could execute you here and now, Pfennig.
But...
you are the only radio operator left in Saint-Malo.
So you and I...
are going to find the location of the person who's broadcasting.
Then I will put a gun in your hand and you will kill this girl yourself.
Do you understand?
Yes, sir, I understand.
The broadcast stopped.
We have the whole day.
The bombers have gone.
Next time she broadcasts, we'll find her.
I put Schmidt with you because I was suspicious of you from the beginning.
Last night, I called the commander of the institute where you trained.
He said you were chosen for this work because you were a genius.
One of the best boys in Germany, he said.
Gather your equipment.
Move.
So how did it come to this?
Carry on with your work, children.
It is probably the radio police,
come to get you for listening to illegal broadcasts.
You don't know what you're talking about.
Heil Hitler.
Children.
Heil Hitler!
To what do we owe this visit, Commander?
How many of you children have listened to the radio today?
Hmm?
If you have been listening to the national broadcast,
you would have heard the glorious news.
This afternoon, German troops entered Paris.
The French gave up the city without a fight.
The French are a very decadent nation.
The rest of France will soon follow.
It came in with the kindling, Commander.
Hmm. Yeah.
Did any of your children listen to anything other
than the national broadcaster today?
You. You were about to raise your hand.
He... He was going to explain that since the Brandenburg Antennae was raised,
no signal other than the national signal can be received, sir.
Heil Hitler.
Yeah, that is the theory,
but clever people find ways around the block.
They find ways to listen to broadcasts from abroad.
Clever people like you, boy.
- You are Werner Pfennig, yes? - Yes, I am.
Yes. Yes, you are.
Indeed, you are and you are the reason I'm here.
Because word of you has reached my ears.
They say you're a genius.
They say you are half-boy, half-radio transmitter,
that you have wires inside your head that can pick up signals from New York.
I have not listened to a foreign broadcast for many weeks, sir.
Heil Hitler.
- Not for months, actually... - Oh, hush.
I'm not here about foreign broadcasts.
No.
I...
I am just here because I have a friend whose radio is broken
and I want you, Werner Pfennig, to come and fix it.
And in one moment, a life is changed.
Shall we?
The most beautiful house in Essen.
Requisitioned from a Jew who left her fingernails in the gate,
such was her reluctance to leave.
A gift to me from the Führer himself.
My dear, turn off the music and show the boy the broken machine.
I want my radio back.
Pfennig, fix it.
To fix it, I would need tools, sir.
And before we picked you up, we entered the local school
and opened your locker
and found the tools you've been using to make illegal radios.
We found one tuned to shortwave frequency 13.10,
a forbidden station located somewhere in France.
You've been listening to an old professor
who broadcasts to children about science and light and imagination and such things.
Yes.
He talks only about truth and beautiful things, sir.
- Heil Hitler. - Heil Hitler.
Yes, truth and beautiful things, all forbidden, Werner Pfennig.
Your ears have consumed forbidden words, so your mind is in itself, forbidden.
Now...
we know what you've been doing,
and you know the punishment for it is death.
So, here's my proposition...
You fix my wife's radio...
or you die.
Come on.
The connection has gone bad. I need to solder it.
There's no solder here.
Fix it or die.
Today at 1:00 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time, German troops, tanks, and other vehicles...
The radio's fixed, sir. Heil Hitler.
Very good, Pfennig.
Now, change the fucking channel before all our minds are poisoned.
Yes, sir. Of course.
To your right.
Come on, quick, quick, quick. Coming in to the landing. Up.
Careful. Hold onto me. Hold on, Marie. Stay close.
The last train from Paris has already left!
You are wasting your time! Get back!
Get back! You must turn back. You must leave the station.
Leave the station!
The last train has already left!
You must leave the station now.
We have to walk.
- Walk? - Come on. Yes.
We have no choice. Come.
Excuse me. Excuse me. Come, Marie, hold on to me.
Hold on.
Marie, honey, let me take your bag.
It's so heavy.
Is this your radio?
Where we're going they may not have one.
I want to know what the professor thinks of what's happening.
Marie. I'm sorry, but we cannot take this with us.
So, can you explain to me why a whole city is running away with nowhere to run to?
Can you explain why the Jews are running the fastest?
Can you explain why one country wants to own another?
I cannot. I can't explain any of it.
On the radio, they say the Nazis hate anyone who's different,
and they hate anyone who speaks the truth.
- Marie... - Listen to me. Listen.
I'm different. I know I am.
I know you've tried to protect me, but I'm different.
You speak the truth.
Yes. And I'll stay silent to keep you safe.
The only different thing about you is that
you're willing to carry a heavy weight at your side in order to hear the truth,
which is one of the many extraordinary things about you, Marie.
In life, you must never hide who you are.
But in war, being unseen can keep you alive.
I'll carry your bag.
You know, the professor, he speaks only to young people.
We need to understand the madness in this world.
- I'll carry my own burden. - No.
It's not your burden to carry alone.
Come.
I'm here. Here I am.
So, Marie, I chose this particular hotel because the service here is extraordinary.
Papa, I hear live chickens.
Indeed, only the freshest food.
And the waiters and the waitresses, and the butlers,
and maids are so discreet, you don't even know they're here.
I feel a cool breeze.
So we're on the terrace, yes?
Yes. And the view to the poppy fields is stunning.
I do hope there's nothing as bourgeois as table and chairs.
Oh, no, the theme is Japanese. We all eat on our knees,
and the starred Michelin chef is famous for his salami sandwiches.
- Here. - Thank you.
Could you ask one of the butlers for a shawl please.
- Yeah. - It's a bit cold.
Thanks. And...
maybe tell the chef that just
half of one of his famous sandwiches will be enough.
- Why? Are you not hungry? - No, uh...
We should save our food, Papa. I...
Because since you don't know where we're going,
we don't know how long it's going to take.
I do know where we're going.
I've decided we're going to Saint-Malo.
By the ocean?
Yes, by the ocean. Eat.
Mmm.
Who do you know in Saint-Malo?
We have family there.
How are we going to get there?
I mean...
There are no trains.
No one's going to give us a ride because kindness is dead
and all the people of the world have become evil at the same time.
Not all the people.
Marie, it's almost 10:00.
Time for your professor.
If he knows what's happening, I'd also like to know too.
Tonight, I believe he's talking about the nature of time.
But whatever it is he talks about, it's always about everything.
Good evening, children.
I'd like to start tonight's broadcast with some words which,
wherever you are, you might find timely.
They were written a long, long time ago by a Greek playwright named Sophocles.
But I think the words prove that things don't really change,
no matter how much time passes.
Here is what he wrote...
"The tyrant is a child of pride
who drinks from his sickening cup of recklessness and vanity
until from his high crest,
he plummets headlong to the dust of hope."
I know that times are dark right now, children,
but trust always that light does prevail.
Speaking of light, I'd like to talk to you about...
Werner!
You get dragged away by the Gestapo, and still you listen?
For one hour of the day, I want to listen to kindness and reason.
- Ow! That hurt! - I should cut them off.
That hurt.
Not as much as a bullet in your head or a rope around your neck.
Werner, you're all I have.
You're my family, all of it. I cannot lose you.
- Sorry about your ears. - You are really strong.
Very strong.
I found some chocolate.
- So, what did the professor... - Werner!
Soldiers are here.
They say they want to speak to you.
Werner, you're not being taken away.
You have been chosen because you're so clever.
They'll say that you're too little.
That you came from nowhere.
That you shouldn't dream big.
But I believe in you. I know you'll do something great.
Thank you.
You will stay the same, Werner Pfennig.
Even though you're often annoying.
- You must not change. - You're hurting me again.
Do not let them impress you.
Do not let them convince you.
Keep the inside of your soul the same, okay?
Like one of your silly radio stations.
Keep the frequency the same.
I promise.
Yeah.
I promise.
Jutta... Jutta... Jutta... Jutta...
- I promise. - Jutta.
Congratulations.
Fixing the radio was my little test, you passed it with flying colors.
Where are you taking me?
To a place where they will turn the boy into a man,
and the man into a soldier.
Heil Hitler.
All right, here we go, Marie. There we go.
Turn right, Marie. Turn right. That's it.
Okay. Now, pop the clutch.
- What's a clutch? - The clutch!
Pick up your left foot. There you go.
Yeah! All right! Scoot over! Scoot.
We steal cars now?
This is not a car, it's a Citroën.
We're not stealing it, we're liberating it for all of France.
Look, Werner Pfennig, the houses I bring you to get bigger each time.
The National Political Institute of Education.
The most elite school in Germany,
built for the most brilliant minds and the strongest bodies.
Only the superhuman survive here.
Do you read Friedrich Nietzsche, Werner?
No, I do not read.
I only listen.
"That which does not kill us makes us stronger."
Heil Hitler.
Who are you?
Lieutenant Colonel Siedler.
I have a candidate here for submission from the Essen Department.
I was told to come here first.
What is he?
He's a wizard.
This is Werner Pfennig.
He has a very particular aptitude with radios.
Yes, well...
I didn't ask about aptitude, did I?
I asked very specifically, what is he?
He's a boy.
When someone asks what you are,
they are asking what race you are.
What you are is your race.
So, please, what is he?
He's German Aryan.
Uh, but according to the application paper you submitted,
Werner Pfennig was found in the orphanage.
So, he's an orphan.
Who was your father, Werner Pfennig?
I don't know who my father was.
Sir.
Your mother?
Dead, sir.
Dead what?
Dead, sir... Heil Hitler.
I mean, was your mother German Aryan?
Yes, sir.
But your father who came and went might have been anything.
Take off your clothes.
If a boy has no clarifying paperwork regarding his ancestry,
before he can even step inside the inner sanctum of this institution,
he must be thoroughly examined,
so we can be sure of his racial genetic makeup.
I said, take off your fucking clothes!
I will do measurements of every part of his body.
Lip thickness, angle of nose projection,
bone density, eye color, skin color,
distance between temples, circumference of head.
And only if after completing my examination,
there is no question about whether he has Jewish blood...
Take everything off.
...he will be accepted.
Herr Siedler, thank you for thinking of us.
Now, please, go back to Essen.
Werner Pfennig is in our hands now.
Heil Hitler.
Good news, Werner Pfennig!
You are not a Jew,
so you can be allowed to live and...
you can join this institution.
But know this.
The boy you are now will soon be dead,
replaced by something more than human.
Attention!
- Heil Hitler! - Heil Hitler!
New boy for proofing.
This is your field uniform.
This is your gym uniform.
Suspenders crossed in the back, parallel in the front,
sleeves rolled to the elbow,
you will carry a knife and a scabbard on the right side of the belt.
No books, no cigarettes. No personal possessions.
This is your locker.
There will be nothing in your locker but uniforms, boots, knife, polish.
No talking after lights out. Letters home posted Wednesday.
We will strip away your weakness, your cowardice, your hesitation.
You will become a waterfall, a volley of bullets.
You will forego comforts and live by duty alone.
You will eat country and breathe nation.
Do you understand?
Yes, sir. I understand.
Good.
Give him the traditional welcome.
Run.
My dearest sister, Jutta,
this is a very interesting place.
There are lots of forests and open country and the air is very clean.
The other boys seem okay, though mostly they are bigger than me.
I still haven't yet even picked up a radio,
but I'm sure that will come.
Please tell Frau Elena not to worry about me,
as I'm fine...
and enjoying the fresh air.
I hope you're all well.
I love and miss you very much.
Best wishes and Heil Hitler,
Werner.
That's enough! Enough!
You must be the new radio boy.
Get up. Get up, boy.
Be gentle with this one.
The Reich has high hopes for him.
Come on.
You either die like a lion,
or you go over like a glass of spilt milk.
Get up. Come on.
Remember, Pfennig...
in case you're planning to fail on purpose,
it is not just your life at stake.
I understand you have a sister...
Jutta.
If you fail to find the location of shortwave 13.10,
your sister will die too.
And she will die very badly.
Papa, today I've been remembering our journey...
Go!
...to Saint-Malo,
in the stolen car,
how we slept in barns and hedges and stole eggs along the way.
I remember how we arrived in the town just as the gasoline ran out...
She's broadcasting half a kilometer to the west.
Turn right here.
And I remember I was so nervous when we first arrived here,
not knowing what our fate would be or who we would meet.
But we were met with only love and joy.
All of that seems so far away now.
Papa...
I pray that the signal from this radio is reaching you wherever you are,
because I will never, never give up hope.
Not ever.
All my love.
Get out.
It's time to meet your friend.
Whoever you are, please forgive me.