Original subtitles

Your papers.

What are you doing? It's only wood.

All right.

It's nothing.

Just firewood from Paris.

Let's see anyway.

Leave my things alonel

What's in there?

Unload those books. Go through everything.

Leave nothing to chance.

Spare no one.

Leave me alone!

Follow him! Hurry!

PARIS SPRING 1794

2ND YEAR OF THE REPUBLIC

A good revolutionary must be tough.

Article One.

All men are born free and equal under the law.

Social differences...

Must be based...

...on the public good.

The principle... - The goal.

The goal of political parties

is the good of the nation.

Freedom is being able to do

whatever does not harm others.

Therefore... the...

Maxime.

No bread again?

They say it's the war.

The war doesn't explain everything. The shortage of bread is a plot.

On whose part?

The enemies of the government.

Starvation leads to revolt.

- Maybe the government's behind it. - Why?

Power corrupts. A story as old as...

Watch out.

You speak for Robespierre too?

They're starting early this morning.

Who's that?

A runaway. They caught him at Vincennes.

He's so handsome.

Why do they go on foot? Is that the new fashion?

Walking back will be harder, Count.

You'll have to carry your head.

Break down the door!

- Give me your card. - Me? Why?

Your card!

What have I done? I didn't do anything.

Will you cut my head off?

Look, it's himl

It's Danton!

Long live the Republic!

Long live Danton!

"Despotism is killing innocent people so that the guilty don't escape.

The Committee thought the Republic needed a period of despotism.

They agreed with Machiavelli

that the greater good excuses minor evils.

They felt liberty is like growing up: You have to suffer.

They are wrong. To be free, men only need

to want to be free.

This has been their right since Bastille Day.

What is the last defense against despotism?

A free press.

If Moscow had one, they'd be a republic tomorrow.

Destroy it in France and..." - Be quiet.

Has it been distributed throughout the city?

No, it's still at the printers.

What are you waiting for?

Citizen barber, you may enter.

Health and fraternity.

Fine day.

Spring at last.

You don't look well at all.

True, you've been ill for five weeks.

We'll fix that. Comb.

Hairpins.

I'll trim it tomorrow.

You're crazy. What are you doing?

What's going on? Let me dress.

Have you gone crazy?

Heron, you have no right!

What are they doing to you?

It's Camille Desmoulins. He's the one to arrest.

It's true. Arrest me. He's innocent. He's only the printer.

Sorry, but we have no orders to arrest you, Desmoulins.

I prefer not to look.

Come back tomorrow at the usual time.

You're up.

Feeling better?

Wonderful.

Danton is back from the country.

He's plotting a coup.

Have you read this? - Not yet.

Desmoulins urges the people to fight the Committees.

For three days, Paris has spoken of nothing but takeover and dictatorship.

By whom?

Nobody speaks the name,

but I think it's...

Danton.

Has he lost his mind?

We'd spare the Republic a lot of trouble

if we sent Danton to the guillotine right now.

No, they idolize him.

And he's not really all that dangerous.

Damn it!

If it isn't him, it's Desmoulins.

Real bread, citizen?

Yes, but there's no sugar.

No matter.

- There's no sugar. - Thank you. I haven't slept.

I'm very tired.

Danton's behind Desmoulins' attacks on us.

He has Camille in his pocket.

What's our real aim?

The Revolution's triumph.

Right. But not at any price.

Why all this carnage?

There are easier ways. - Like what?

Desmoulins and Danton will be beheaded without your permission.

Is it really so cold?

Please pass me my coat.

Is your fever back?

It'll pass.

I forbid you to ogle citizen Robespierre like that.

COMMITTEES ARE DICTATORSHIP

Clear the hall.

That's enough!

Citizens,

attacks against the government are increasing.

Desmoulins' paper calls

for war on the Committees.

I charge Danton and his friends...

Sorry I'm late.

Just like school.

I charge Danton and his friends with subversion.

What?

You'd deprive the Revolution of its best servants?

Come, Billaud. You can't be serious.

Go ahead.

- You surprise me, Robespierre. - Danton loyal?

You're mad.

No, but I remember, and you've forgotten.

You've forgotten everything done by the man

you're now so eager to kill.

Remember that it was he who set up our revolutionary club

in 1790 and 1791. Never forget that.

Then don't you forget the Champ de Mars massacre!

He led the people into it like sheep!

And then fled to the country.

Let's stop all this.

We recall Mirabeau's letter denouncing Danton's plotting.

Why trust a traitor's word?

Lawyer's tricks!

You can't base such a serious charge

on rumors alone.

I insist we call Citizen Amar

of the Security Committee.

On no pretext can I allow

Danton to go on trial.

Afraid, Robespierre?

I know it would be easier to kill him,

but I say his good faith is beyond question.

Killing this defenseless man is senseless.

Defenseless?

His only weapon was that paper.

Was?

Yes. I had the paper closed down.

Desmoulins will replace it with another.

Then we'll...

Get rid of Desmoulins.

No, we'll win him over.

He's a great propagandist.

Citizen Amar.

Good day, Amar. Do you have evidence against Danton?

Go on.

Read it!

What?

Praying?

I want what I'm about to say kept quiet.

Citizens, like you, I doubt Danton's good faith.

Finally!

And yet

I categorically oppose his execution.

Justice is divine and thus beyond our reach.

The Revolutionary Tribunal cannot be Justice.

It can only punish the nation's enemies,

not clamp down on criminals.

These men are guilty of crimes.

The ax will fall on Fabre and his friends.

Danton's the guiltiest, but we will not touch him.

If we do, the bourgeoisie will join the counterrevolution.

Execute Danton, and the Convention would rise against us.

We'd shake the people's faith in the Revolution.

And then

we'd have to rule by terror.

You know what that is?

Terror is nothing but despair.

Yes, Billaud, I'm afraid.

So afraid of the terror

that I'm ready for any compromise to avoid it.

Any humiliation, any lie.

The traitor Danton must be granted a favor he perhaps doesn't deserve:

amnesty.

For the country's good, we must be ruthless.

We can't afford to be just.

About time you came.

- So you're back. - Yes. I was bored.

- I've come for my orders. - What orders?

Here's what I say: First free the prisoners.

I'll summon our fighting men.

We'll raid the Convention and kill the leaders.

Fine. I wish you luck.

Don't you understand? Robespierre's on the move.

In an hour the Committee will grab us,

and you're vulnerable too.

Why? What have I done?

Suppose they talk of the Supreme Judge and mention your name.

They'll say you want to be a dictator.

One rumor, and you've had it.

Who would dare condemn me?

The Committee, of course.

Robespierre is back on his feet.

That absurd Committee?

You're so sure of yourself.

Use your head.

I am the man of August 10. All of Paris is behind me.

It's now or never, believe me!

I'm surprised you're still free.

It's a miracle... and a bit suspicious.

But I get it: You're my friend. They can't arrest my friends.

I have something Robespierre lacks: my newspaper.

It gives me more influence than that charlatan.

Does that reassure you?

Georges!

The paper's been closed and the printer arrested.

Reassured indeed. Now we're finished!

You could at least say hello, Camille.

How are you, Lucille?

Perhaps we've gone too far.

If you're scared, run to Robespierre.

Tell him I made you write it.

Stop it. I did my duty.

I showed people the terror must end.

Now you must act, or what I did was pointless.

- We must act at once. - Why?

- The printer was closed down. - I know.

- Don't you want to save your skin? - Sure. Why shouldn't I?

Don't you, Boucher?

We must strike.

This is politics, not butchery. Use your heads.

Camille made Robespierre look bad.

Now he's trying to salvage his prestige.

So he jails the printer and seizes the paper.

He's provoking us in hopes he'll force our hand.

So instead we do nothing.

We must stay calm. Understand?

Philippeaux wants to speak to you.

Who is he? Liberal? Moderate?

A spotless record. He's ideal.

Danton's wrong. How can I persuade him to act?

You want to attack the Committee too?

Not yet.

I'm wondering myself.

I'd like to know what you want.

Me too.

You'd end the terror?

You'd topple the regime?

I'd join you if I was convinced your motives were pure.

Don't you believe me?

Why?

It was you who created the Revolutionary Tribunal.

You voted to kill the king.

So did you.

We'll get nowhere like this.

Did I ask for your help?

He wants to back you. The center's with him.

Guarantee that you won't abuse your power.

- I'm not after power. - So you say now.

I don't want power. I'm 35 and look 60.

I'm tired. I'd like to quit.

But first I must end the terror,

because I'm partly to blame for it.

That's fine, but we didn't just meet yesterday.

So?

You don't need money from politics, it's true.

Take it easy!

You asked to talk to me!

Georges, this isn't the time.

All right. Make it quick. What do you want?

The Public Safety Committee has exceeded its mandate.

Dismantle it without a fight. Only you can do that.

Frankly, you disgust me,

but I'll back you.

I'm flattered. How will you do it?

With armed men, if need be.

Worried?

Yes. Like everyone.

You really want to act?

Strike, I tell you.

No one can control an insurrection.

Robespierre has one weakness:

his secret police, whom everyone hates.

So, Bourdon, in the Convention today,

attack a top secret agent.

Heron?

Yes, he'll do. Talk about informers, searches.

The nation will support you.

It will say we're its last hope for freedom.

Will that be enough?

Yes, they'll calm down, and so will Robespierre. Go on.

Georges is right.

You should always heed your wife.

It's the start of a new era. Get going.

Then it's back to our modest, quiet lives.

Yours will be quiet and ours modest.

If you see poverty as a revolutionary virtue,

go and join Robespierre.

And you find a new printer.

What is more destructive,

more anti-Republican,

than this invisible police

and its informers?

They infiltrate everywhere, spreading lies

and making threats.

They endanger individual liberty,

force fathers to mistrust their sons,

and think they're all-powerful.

This police is headed

by an ex-criminal named Heron,

who, under the cloak...

Who, under the cloak...

of public service,

settles private scores

and openly favors the rogues he recruits.

Where's he rushing off to?

The Committee. As soon as Heron was mentioned...

I demand Heron's arrestl

The Convention voted to arrest Heron.

Our best man? Lose him and we lose control of Paris.

There's your defenseless Danton.

I want to see him today.

That traitor?

Barere, arrange the meeting.

This session is ended.

You'd lower yourself so far as to ask Danton to receive you?

What does humiliation matter if it's for the country's good?

For that I'd stoop to anything.

The Public Safety Committee's done for!

Long live Danton!

I've come from the Committee.

Some accuse you of high treason. - Only me?

The others too. All of them.

And Robespierre agrees?

- Don't know yet. Anyway, I'm off. - Afraid?

I'd rather not be seen in your company.

...jailed for demanding liberty.

No, change those.

Use only blue flowers. He only likes blue.

Turbot a la flunkey, it's called now.

What a creature.

We start with stuffed cucumber. Then vol-au-vent.

With Convention sauce,

once known as caper sauce.

Refugee quails with onions.

That's it.

And fruit in Varennes sauce.

- Everything satisfactory? - Perfectly, thank you.

You should have made him beg, or arrived late and dressed in rags.

A gesture won't hurt. It's now or never.

Leave me alone. Go home, please.

I want to see him humiliated, please.

Go home. You too, Bourdon!

Certainly not.

I must know how to vote in the Convention.

I said go home!

Everybody out.

Now, that's blue. Fine.

Bourdon, get rid of all these people.

Quick. I need privacy.

Right away.

You dare tell me that?

Clear out, all of you!

- Are you mad? - Security.

Out!

Good evening. I kept you waiting. Sorry.

No matter. We're so rarely alone together,

you and I.

- Everything all right, citizen? - Fine, thanks.

Look.

Would you like some?

How about this?

It's magnificent.

A little quail?

It's not poisoned. Look.

Delicious.

Sit down.

You're really not hungry?

What do you want?

To be frank with you.

Haven't you always been?

Why did you attack Heron?

Why did you arrest Dessenne and ban the paper?

I must protect the government. But you?

I don't understand. They say you're hatching a plot.

It's not true, and you know it.

I'm pure as snow.

Your many enemies want your death.

Are you among them?

Stop attacking me, and I give you my word you'll be safe.

Am I not safe now?

I thought you didn't drink.

To our understanding.

What do you want?

You're frank. I like that.

State publicly that you're joining us.

- Impossible. - Why?

I don't approve of the government. I have that right.

But not the right to proclaim it. Especially not you.

You can't want me to grovel before the government.

Do you think you're above it?

All exceptional people are above the masses.

I despise the Committees as much as you do, but I say so.

No one must divide us, you and I.

No committee, no government, no one.

Divided, we both fall.

I can't go along with your reign of terror, and no one else will either.

The people, our strength, will destroy the Revolution.

And who's to blame for that?

Not l, and certainly not you.

If we're not to blame, then it's fate.

I've never believed in fate.

Nor have I.

Deep down we share the same ideals.

No longer.

We fought a revolution

in the name of fairness and equality.

Now you chop off any head above the rest. Was that what we fought for?

I'm the people's only defense.

Against whom?

Men who grow rich from the Revolution. Am I right?

You want men to act like the heroes of novels.

You forget we're made of flesh and blood.

You want to raise us to heights

where we can't breathe.

You end up isolating the Revolution. You freeze it.

Even its most fervent supporters back off.

What is your advice?

Come back to earth. At once.

Stop the revolutionary impetus and you kill the revolution.

People just want to eat and sleep in peace.

Without bread, there's no law, no freedom, no justice,

no Republic.

To hell with the Committees.

But I admire you.

I'd love to follow you, but not just anywhere.

I want to provide normal living conditions

for 80% of the people. That's all.

Please stop. I know you well.

No need for speeches here. - What?

That's not all you want.

The same men mustn't stay in power too long.

You aspire to power?

I don't need to aspire to power. I have it.

The only real power: from the man in the street.

Because I understand him and he understands me.

Never forget that. - I won't.

But likewise don't you forget

that I'll stop at nothing to bring happiness to the people.

Bring happiness to the people?

You know nothing of the people!

How could you know? Look at you.

You don't drink, you in your powdered wigs!

Swords make you faint, and they say you've never had a woman.

Who do you speak for?

Make men happy? You're not even a man yourself.

I'll show you the people. Let's take a walk through the streets.

I'm sorry.

I've always been a clumsy brute.

I woke last night thinking that for you and me to be feuding,

to be enemies, makes no sense at all.

We must stop it at once.

Then do what I ask.

How?

Do what I ask. Join us.

I went to the country to think things over.

And I must tell you very frankly,

I'd rather be executed than be an executioner.

What are you saying? You're drunk.

If you insist,

you see this head?

See it?

Feel it?

You'll have to cut it off.

I'm sorry. This was a mistake.

Good night.

Wait!

My witnesses heard everything.

That's why I said nothing. Good night.

- Where did he go? - What happened?

Now I've got him.

I've got him.

So I had it all wrong, huh?

Now you see. The Committees must end.

You were wrong about Robespierre.

Come quickly. We must hurry to the meeting.

No point. Your plan is childish.

It's now or never.

No more blood! That's what I'm fighting for!

What?

That's what I'm fighting for.

You're telling me?

Yes, you.

You prefer your blood to flow, or your friends'?

Good to see you.

How's your mother?

Worse than ever.

This is Sophie, from Nantes.

Go to your meeting.

I can't come tonight. It was just to get rid of him.

You coming?

"A free press is the greatest terror to ambitious despots."

What happened?

Say something.

Tell me.

It's war. Danton forced the issue.

What?

Robespierre is due for a lesson.

Tell me what happened, everything they said.

I don't know. I couldn't hear well.

This frightens me terribly.

For three months I've had a foreboding.

Is your husband in?

I'm glad you came.

Why?

You've changed a lot.

You're like a stranger now.

I've aged, if that's what you mean.

That's not it, but...

Is he really in danger?

Yes, he is.

You're my only hope.

Tell me, why did you push him away?

The opposite happened. Truly.

Really? Then I misunderstood.

How could you? Camille was your friend.

That's why I've come.

I said I was in for no one.

We must talk. It's serious.

Why bother?

You're in grave danger. I came to warn you.

You don't realize your life's at stake.

Your friend Danton is using you.

He's exploiting your talent.

He's only out for himself. That's not friendship.

It's a suspicious alliance.

Stop!

You don't scare me. A freedom fighter isn't afraid to die.

Maybe that's the price he pays.

By advocating charity and tolerance,

you hoped to save our country. Right?

But you're aiding subversion.

That's Danton's goal.

You must understand.

So what should I do?

Make a speech tomorrow in the Convention.

Take back all your attacks.

Then, in the next issue of your paper,

retract what you've said in previous issues.

You're like a common strumpet!

Danton threw you out, so you crawl to me!

You're terrified!

Maxime, remember:

Burning a newspaper

is no answer.

It's your last chance.

Listen to me, or you're through.

You must believe me.

I swear it's true.

Get out.

What happened? You must tell me!

Why did the two of them meet?

If Danton and Robespierre have disagreed for so long,

it would seem a bit late now.

He's not here yet? Good.

No, but you're 10 minutes late, Saint-Just.

What joy. You remind me of my youth.

Forgive my lateness.

Spoken like a king to his ministers.

Then how should I speak?

In one hour, at 3:30,

the police must arrest Danton.

Tonight? So soon?

It's madness!

Out of the question.

Danton and his accomplices.

Without preparing the people?

It's political suicide.

We'll face certain defeat.

The Committee must prepare public opinion.

Let me have my say.

Robespierre,

Danton has the bankers' support. You told us that.

It will be the Committee's death and Danton's triumph.

You're right. Danton has support everywhere.

It won't work.

I wish to speak.

Not about that!

We must strike like lightning.

Give him three days and he'll get gold from the bankers.

He'll raise an army and spread leaflets all over Paris.

He'll address the Convention.

Everyone here knows he's a great orator.

We must do it tonight... or never.

You're right.

If it causes panic in the Convention, I'll step in.

We need an indictment.

Who will write it?

It's already written.

Read it.

Allow me first to read it once more.

We need the approval of the Public Safety Committee.

Out of the question.

Call them in.

Are they still here?

The session's just ending.

Ask them to come in.

What changed your mind?

Who else besides Danton?

Here's my list: Lacroix, Philippeaux...

Entirely innocent.

Their intentions may be, but we judge facts!

Legendre, Bourdon.

Innocent puppets. Let's avoid a bloodbath, please.

The first humane words of the night.

All right. We'll spare them.

Desmoulins?

Desmoulins is my friend.

But I'll abide by your decision.

But perhaps it would be wise to give him an extra day

to think it over.

Impossible.

Very well. Those three accompany Danton to prison.

We just ordered Westermann's arrest.

He was recruiting fighting men.

Good. The Public Safety Committee just decided

to arrest Danton and three of his accomplices.

Who?

Georges Danton.

You want to arrest him? When?

Tonight.

You're mad!

We're in a hurry. We need your approval.

And if we refuse?

You're the secret police.

You can arrest deputies as a preventive measure.

That's our privilege, not yours!

You can delegate it to us.

That's illegal.

Not if you agree to it.

Calm down, Vadier.

Are you certain you know what you're doing?

It's a heavy responsibility to bear.

And one we are entirely willing to assume!

- Write. - Very well.

"We of the Public Safety Committee

and of the Security Committee

have this night agreed that Danton..."

Who else?

Lacroix.

Philippeaux.

Desmoulins.

"...all of them members of the Convention,

shall be arrested

and imprisoned in..."

Luxembourg jail.

Your signature.

Your signatures, please.

Lindet, you didn't sign.

I was elected to this committee to support our revolutionaries,

not to kill them.

Gentlemen, this session is ended.

I said you were great and that I'd die for you.

I take it all back. All of it!

I was blind as a bat. Now my eyes have been opened.

What are you talking about?

What are you trying to tell me?

Robespierre came to see you?

How do you know?

Besides, I forbid you to speak of him. You have no right.

I hope you heeded his advice.

No, I refused.

You find out we're doomed yet reject your salvation.

Why doomed?

If Robespierre came to see you, the decree's been signed.

- What decree? - For our arrest!

You're the only man alive that monster still holds dear.

He tried to save you, but you sent him away. It's over.

What are they afraid of?

They didn't mind your insults.

But you express your disapproval in writing. That's unpardonable.

What did you do?

I refused to shake hands. I pronounced my own death sentence.

You don't mean that.

Yes, I do.

Why did you refuse?

His hands are too bloody.

You could fight back. The people are behind you.

Can we complete the list?

Renaudin,

Royer Collard,

Segur.

Cross him off.

Sourboul.

Can we depend on him?

Cross him off.

Vinot.

Not Vinot.

Is that all?

No one else you're sure of?

That's enough.

No, we only have seven jurors.

So?

By law we need 12.

Haven't you got 12?

Only seven.

If you don't have 12, then seven will do.

Add some hoodlums to the indicted,

like Chabot, Fabre and Basire.

The charge?

Antipatriotic activities.

Know them?

Fabre, Chabot, Basire, Delaunay, Guzman,

the Frey brothers and Dedricksen.

Round them up at once.

Fabre?

Get up.

He's sick. Don't take him away.

That's all.

The Public Safety Committee just met.

Lindet sent me to warn you.

Save yourself.

Come on!

What do you want?

There's money in the cache.

Take it.

But watch out... our dear Republic may grab it.

Coming!

Citizen Danton, you're under arrest.

Here's the warrant.

"By order of the Security Council,

you are to arrest the below named and remove to..."

I know, I know!

"Citizen Danton."

Is it still raining?

Then I won't need a coat.

Let's go!

Citizens!

Danton has been arrested!

Danton was arrested last night.

The terror never ends.

We must act.

We too could be arrested any minute.

Make way!

Bourdon, go to the podium.

I can't. I wouldn't know what to say.

It's now or never.

Scared? Look, he's shaking.

You go!

I'm a lousy speaker.

Legendre, you go.

All right, I'll put down my name.

I wish to speak.

Citizens, the session is open.

Speak up.

We just learned

with amazement

that four deputies of the Convention were arrested last night,

including Danton!

Long live Danton! The man of August 10!

I demand

that they be heard in this House

so you may decide

if personal enmity

or jealousy aren't behind

this monstrous decision!

Put down Citizen Robespierre's name.

Get down! Clear the podium!

It's not his turn!

- Whose turn is it? - Yours.

You have no right!

Get down!

Down with the dictator!

Back me up!

It's been ages since our debates

were fired with such passion.

True, the question's important.

In short, it means

are we going to put some people above the Republic?

Down with the Terror!

Legendre demands

that the accused come to the podium.

We all do! Let's hear Danton!

You are willing to grant this man

what you've refused to others.

On what grounds?

Does Legendre mean

that Danton should be above the law?

The man of August 10 deserves some consideration.

We all agree! Let's hear Danton!

The Republic

was built by all the people.

Which of us dares to say,

"The king's arrest on August 10 was my doing alone"?

No merit gives the right to claim privilege.

This much is certain: For us, no one is privileged.

Hearing the accused is no privilege! It's only justice!

Justice?

Don't you trust the Revolutionary Tribunal?

The Tribunal is irreproachable. We all trust it.

We'll see

if the Convention's firm enough to bring Danton to justice,

or if it contests Saint-Just's report.

We must challenge the indictment.

No, you're right.

Never fear: France is with you!

So Danton's partisans

think he deserves special treatment?

If so, abolish the Public Safety Committee

and try us!

We're for the Committees!

Long live the Committees!

The eyes of the world are upon us every day.

We must show no weakness, no moral cowardice.

What would become of France

if we lost the trust of the French?

I want men beside me

who are upright and fair.

Innocence, that prime virtue,

cannot and must not fear public scrutiny.

Right! Bravo, Robespierre!

I propose that Legendre's motion be rejected.

Then Saint-Just will read the indictment.

Who is for Robespierre's motion?

- Who is opposed? - Me. I'm opposed.

Have you gone mad? If Danton falls, we're all finished.

Idiots! You'll be massacred!

Such statements make you guilty in my eyes.

What's that?

The Convention has confirmed its faith in the Committees.

Only the guilty tremble.

This will destroy you, Robespierre!

Ah, yes.

Now we have the standard argument.

But even if,

by the most obscure laws of Providence,

a criminal's fall must bring me down with him, what of it?

For revolutionaries,

danger must never outweigh duty.

I never said I put Danton above the law.

I never suspected you in the least.

I wish to speak. Silence.

For a long time, I was fooled by Danton.

Today

at last I see my mistake.

We should prove our trust in the Committees!

We should approve the indictment

without hearing Saint-Just's report!

Stop sniveling or I'll ask for another cell.

Don't leave me alone. I'd go mad.

Shame on you.

I've gone to pieces.

You are to die in five days.

Admit it and give up all hope.

When death is sure, suffering comes to a quick end.

We can win the case.

No. This is a political trial.

It has nothing to do with justice.

I don't want to die. I have a right to live.

A man has only those rights he can defend.

It's Georges!

I was afraid you weren't here.

Hey, there!

Wine for the people's delegates, and quick!

Camille, you're crying.

That means you don't understand.

Understand what?

That we had to let ourselves be jailed.

Why?

To open the people's eyes

and show them what the Committees are capable of.

There's no other way. That's why I let it happen.

What about glasses? We're not going to drink from the bottle!

We don't even get glasses.

Not bad.

The Convention approved the charges.

The cowards.

We're to go to the main jail.

We're finished!

Why? We still have our heads,

our fists, teeth, claws to fight with.

A political trial is a duel.

If the government accuses us, we'll accuse them,

and let the people judge.

If we can sow doubt in the people's minds...

We'll be executed anyway.

No! You forget the power of my voice!

Now I will speak up. The public follows me when I speak.

But it's often fickle.

If they won't allow witnesses, we won't talk.

With them, we can win.

Desmoulins.

You have a visitor.

Who? My wife?

What is it?

Follow me.

It's Robespierre.

Go ahead. He'll save you.

What are you waiting for? - No one's stopping you.

Go on.

We will die, but you needn't die with us.

What should I do?

Go on. He's come for you.

Go, I tell you.

Please inform the gentleman I don't wish to see him.

I can't tell him that.

Then say, "Camille is not at home."

People of France! Why are these swine here?

Who dares to try me with thieves?

We, the spearhead of the Revolution, tried as criminals!

What's the meaning of this?

You don't have the floor yet.

Make way!

Wait here.

They won't shut the doors.

Keep him out. He mustn't take notes.

Quiet, please.

Why can't I take notes? Has the Committee gone mad?

I'm a journalist from Rheims.

Down with the Committees!

Chabot, Delaunay, Basire, Fabre.

You are accused of conspiring

to bribe elected delegates

and foster a revolt of the nobility

with gold stolen from the East India Company

through your crooked financial schemes.

Desmoulins, Philippeaux and Danton

are just as guilty

as those whose crimes I have just described.

You call this tissue of lies an indictment!

Give it to them, Georges!

Shall I dirty my mouth by replying?

We're with you!

The accused won't reply? No matter.

Let us talk!

Nothing to add to the defense?

What do you mean, add? We haven't spoken yet.

So?

Has the jury heard enough?

Why the hurry, Fouquier?

Did I say I'd finished?

If you hope to address the public,

you should know: It's against the law.

I founded the tribunal! I ought to know the rules.

Very well.

You may speak.

For the last time.

Yes, the last time.

France!

You are not allowed to address the public.

For five years, I've been your leader and your companion.

Every page of your history bears my name. Is that not true?

Long live Danton!

You're accused of selling out.

Selling out?

A man like me is beyond price.

I will clear this hall.

Don't expect me to be cool. I'll take all day if I have to.

My voice will be heard!

The law bars addressing the public. Back to your seat.

This trial is just starting, not ending.

The braver the man, the harder they try to destroy him.

Go on, Danton.

Listen.

When they decide to destroy a man, they throw the book at him.

An old trick, but one I see they've brought to new refinement.

You dismiss the law while claiming to serve it.

It makes those in power think

that they have nothing to fear.

The just have always been an obstacle to politicians,

and today more than ever!

Why must I be killed? Only I can answer that.

They must kill me because I'm honest. Because I tell the truth.

Because I frighten them.

Three reasons to murder a decent man!

Guards! That journalist!

Taking notes is forbidden!

Down with the Tribunal!

I was among those who established the people's justice.

Do you think you can pervert it without my noticing?

This is another of your tricks.

Mixing us with hoodlums so the people think we're thieves.

Congratulations! Great idea!

Too bad I noticed it.

What a parody of justice!

Where are the witnesses we are entitled to?

People of France, you are the Tribunal.

Bring in our accusers. The Committees.

No Committees. You don't have the right.

Let it all be public, and you decide.

Quiet!

Panis, run to the Convention.

We want the Committees.

Say we're being muzzled. Run!

Count on me!

I'm on my way!

Oust the Committees!

You call this justice? It's a massacre!

Why are you here?

You let him go on and on. Shut him up.

You think it's so easy.

We want more energy from you.

Energy?

Yes, energy.

Come into the court and you'll see.

Never mind that. We know what's happening.

- We know what you're saying. - And not saying!

Spying on me? Bravo!

Your hesitation hardly inspires confidence.

What are you talking about, Billaud?

You don't understand!

They want witnesses? Very well. They'll have them.

Because we can't refuse.

No! No witnesses!

Fine.

Then I guarantee nothing. You do as you wish.

We really can't bar their witnesses?

No. Not right away.

But you're running this trial.

I'm running it?

Very well. Then get out.

Get the hell out!

Let me run it.

Is the Danton affair going very badly?

Why do you ask?

I've never seen you like this.

Leave me alone.

Not until you've told me everything.

The Danton affair is a dilemma.

If we lose the trial, the Revolution is sunk.

If we win, it's the same.

I shouldn't say that.

Are they out to hurt you?

At least not openly.

Please don't leave without eating.

- No, that's no good. - Just sheaves?

There'll be lots of fruit and carts of olives from Avignon.

We must evoke peace and joy.

Serenity.

A celebration of the Supreme Being.

Try this staff.

Very simple and rustic.

No, it's like a martyr's palm.

We're in trouble.

The trial's going badly.

Danton's panicking the gallery.

He's so sure of himself that he's attacking us.

We want Danton's death.

Your job is to justify the verdict.

Silence him any way you can.

The public will lynch us.

What's more,

the accused are demanding witnesses.

We sent a letter yesterday...

I know.

Where is it?

Did you send it or not?

The Convention will answer it

after I tell them what I think of it.

We can't wait.

They'll say no in any case.

Barere, you approve of this?

You can't do this.

Fouquier, if we back off, we're all sunk.

I'm a judge.

I'm not your private executioner.

You are an executioner!

Not mine... the people's!

You serve justice!

We send you the Republic's enemies!

Your duty is not to judge them but to destroy them!

You no longer have law on your side.

When the Republic is at stake,

we have every right. Never forget that.

Say another word and you'll be arrested.

We'll speak of this later.

Later.

David.

When will you finish "The Oath"?

Fabre wasn't there.

Come now, Maxime.

I'm certain he was on the list.

He wasn't there, I tell you.

He's a traitor, besides. Remove him.

Are you a close friend of Danton's?

I demand to be identified first, as provided by law.

A mere formality.

Like this whole trial.

You've already testified. Be quiet.

I've barely begun.

This trial won't be over until I've finished.

People of France, I appeal to you!

You and you alone may judge me.

Where are our witnesses?

I want them. Here!

The two Committees must be tried by public opinion.

After both sides have had their say,

you, the people,

will decide who's guilty:

me or the omnipotent Committee!

Stop addressing the audience or you will be silenced!

I'm accused of conspiracy.

Very well. I confess.

I am guilty of conspiracy.

In my own heart, in my own company, I have conspired.

Conspired for peace, amnesty,

respect for the law, public order.

Conspired for happiness and justice.

These faults...

because apparently that's what they are...

I admit to with pride.

But I admit only to them.

Another fault: being popular and strong,

when only anonymity and cunning

guarantee one a long life.

If you desire a long life, you must not be loved.

That's one of our new laws,

all the more powerful

for being unwritten.

Woe to strong men loved by the people!

Long live mediocre,

taciturn,

bitter men, huddled in their offices.

The Revolution is like Saturn:

It devours its own children.

Why must we...

What fate propels us to condemn rather than forgive?

Destroy rather than save?

Why all this bloodshed?

When, if ever, will it stop?

I thought I could put a brake to this storm of Revolution.

I thought it advisable, and I still do.

But in your cold eyes,

I have already read my death.

You decided that before entering this room.

I wonder: Was I wrong?

Other men disagree with me.

Their idealism knows no bounds.

They no longer see men around them but only speculators,

villains and traitors.

In the name of revolutionary principles,

they have forgotten the Revolution!

They've established a new dictatorship worse than the old.

Fearing the return of tyrants, they've become tyrants themselves!

Fouquier, you said the people wanted blood.

Lies!

It's not the people who want blood. It's you!

The people want only to live in peace.

You have no right to saddle them with your thirst for blood.

Danton, you have betrayed yourself!

Only a conspirator,

an enemy of the government,

could thus insult

the People's Tribunal.

The people have only one dangerous enemy:

the government!

Stop the trial! Free Danton!

Call the guards.

Soldiers,

seven times I've been wounded, each time in the chest!

Now shoot me in the back!

People of France, do not abandon your defenders!

Let me through.

They kill freedom before your very eyes, and you do nothing.

Come here.

They've arrested you too.

So there is justice!

The creator of the Tribunals is himself to die!

I will die, but so will you!

Spit on him!

How can you pack living people in like this?

Danton.

Desmoulins.

Philippeaux.

Lacroix.

Heron.

Fabre.

Chabot.

Basire.

Where is he?

Here.

Did he confess?

I never said what's written there.

I only did it to avoid a catastrophe.

What catastrophe?

Sign the statement.

Sign it!

It wasn't a plot.

Then what was it?

Just this:

Lucie Desmoulins wanted

to gather Danton's friends.

Such a list amounts to a plot.

It wasn't a plot.

You must sign your deposition

if you don't want to die.

We've discovered a plot. All Paris is in on it.

What plot?

Organized by Desmoulins' wife and Danton's friends.

They had the support of many.

Tomorrow they planned

to surround the court.

We're finished now.

Well, Robespierre?

This trial was your mad idea.

What now, Maximilien Robespierre?

What do you want?

What do you want? - You ask us that?

We've won against Danton.

What do you mean?

Open your eyes.

You've all saved your heads.

You've escaped.

- Escaped? How? - Listen.

Any plot

is the Convention's worry.

If it's threatened, it will have to obey the Committee.

We must move quickly to get this decree.

What decree?

Danton must be barred from speaking at the trial.

Tell the Convention of this plot.

I can't. I'm exhausted.

I'll go, and I'll get the decree.

Danton wants to call witnesses,

but that's out of the question. - Very well.

You know we're innocent.

But you don't care,

because you're following your orders.

And Fouquier knows which orders I speak of.

What are they? Confess!

So I too am to taste

the kiss of steel.

But mark my words:

You can have my head,

but he who gave the order

will soon rot beside me.

He knows that if he kills me, it will be his death as well.

You want to murder me without a trace.

You forbid journalists to take notes.

The clerks sit idly by.

They too have been told

to write nothing.

It must all disappear.

Am I to vanish too?

No! I won't!

I will go on speaking to the end,

because I'm immortal.

For I am the people.

The people are with me.

You murderers

will be judged by the people.

I speak, and I'll go on speaking.

Perhaps the air in this very hall will preserve

the echo of my silenced voice.

Delegates of the Nation!

I have here the Convention's latest decree.

The Convention has approved the following decree:

"The Tribunal is to conduct the trial without interruption.

Any defendant opposing it

will leave the courtroom at once."

We have unearthed a sinister plot

to free the accused and end the Republic.

The Desmoulins woman has spent considerable sums

to buy up the people.

Beware, all of you:

Agents of subversion are in this room.

That's a lie!

They want to kill Lucille.

If you oppose this court, I'll have you thrown out.

You are all my witnesses. Have we opposed the court?

Have we insulted it? - No, never!

On occasion.

Bravo, Georges!

Thank God it's over.

Glorious Tribunal, nest of thieves,

blackmailers and pimps,

I have just one thing to say to you:

You're not fit to spit at.

In obedience to the decree,

I order defendant Danton removed from the court.

Take him away.

Murderers!

You won't silence us!

Remove defendant Lacroix from the court.

I'll leave of my own accord.

Me too. We should have started this way.

To hell with all of you!

Having been convicted of plotting

with Fabre and the others,

are they also guilty of selling their votes

in a plot to slander

the nation's representatives

and destroy the government?

Yes.

We will now read the sentence.

"Lacroix, Danton, Heron, Philippeaux, Westermann,

Desmoulins and the rest are condemned to death.

Their goods are to be confiscated.

Execution is to take place within 24 hours.

Notice is to be posted throughout the Republic."

It will all collapse without me.

There'll be nothing but terror.

The Revolution is shamed!

Hiding your fear?

No! I'm hiding nothing.

I'm scared too.

I thought I could look death in the eye, but I can't.

It will all collapse in three months at the most!

Three months at the most.

No, wait.

I don't feel well.

Just when you're about to go down in history?

Let him be.

Careful, or I'll cut you.

I remember what old Guillotin said:

You feel nothing when the blade drops.

Just a pleasantly cool sensation.

I'm a fraud. For years I shouted,

"Long live virtue." Then I got caught.

We each do what we can.

I was had by the civilians.

Hurry up.

I had a short but happy life.

I have no regrets.

- All set? - Yes.

You'll follow me soon. You'll be forgotten by all.

Your house will be razed and the ground sown with salt.

Show the people my head. It's worth it.

It's over, Maxime. Our victory is complete.

The people took it calmly.

You must agree to become dictator now.

I feel

that everything I've lived for

has collapsed forever.

I don't understand.

The Revolution...

has taken a wrong turn.

How can you say that?

I no longer know what I'm saying.

You admit a dictatorship is needed.

That means the nation is unable to govern itself,

and democracy is only an illusion.

I'm crazy!

No, just desperate.

So blow your brains out.

Good idea.

That would end my troubles.

I just want to sleep.

Leave quietly when you go.

My brother has learned something for you.

"Article One:

All men are born free and equal under the law.

Social differences must be based on the public good.

Article Two:

The goal of political parties

is to safeguard

man's inalienable rights.

Article Three:

Sovereignty resides in the people.

No group or individual may rule

without the express consent of the people.

Article Four:

Freedom is the right to do anything not harmful to others.

Man's natural rights are limited

only by what assures to others in society

the exercise of those rights.

Only the law can set such limits."