All language subtitles for Prisoner of Honor

NARRATOR:
Judas sold Christ.

Dreyfus sold France.

MAN 1: My editor has an idea
for an article,

about how every few years,
the world goes mad.

That entire nations
lose their heads.

MAN 2: Your editor
isn't as much of a fool
as I thought.

MAN 1: He wanted me
to ask you about
the Dreyfus affair.

About all those men,
like Picquart and Zola,
Esterhazy.

MAN 2: [SCOFFS]
The Dreyfus affair.

It's ancient history.

It was nothing.Nothing?

France was completely
torn apart for 10 years.

Well, the French!
So ridiculously passionate
about such little things.

It was only a simple
case of espionage.

It was so amusing
to watch them.

The whole country should
have entered a madhouse
consumed with guilt.

Spot of tea.

That's right.
Well, here we are.

What does Esterhazy feel
about his part in it,
looking back, I wonder.

Is there any remorse?

Remorse?

My dear fellow,
the whole thing
was a comedy.

A tragicomedy.

Esterhazy needed money.

None of this would
have happened

if his wife had
had as much
as she claimed

before trapping him
into marriage.

But the world was turned
upside down

and the French Army
never really recovered.

It may have been one
of the things
that convinced Germany

it could safely
go to war.

And all because Esterhazy
chose the wrong wife?

You see, a comedy.

MAN: Captain Dreyfus!

You are unworthy
to bear arms.

In the name of
the people of France

we degrade you.

[DRUMROLL]

[CLANKS]

DRUM MAJOR: Captain!

I'm innocent.[BAND MUSIC PLAYING]

I swear, I'm innocent!

I love my country!

-[OFFICER SCREAMING ORDERS]
-[BAND PLAYING LOUDLY]

Fortunate the Drum Major
had the presence of mind
to strike up the band

and drowned him out.

As if he hadn't disgraced
the nation enough already.

Is there a single yid
in the world that would
have behaved differently?

No.

Even if he's a traitor,
he's still an army man.

Should have had
the presence of mind

to take his punishment
like a soldier,

and not like some
hysterical dressmaker.

[LAUGHING]

Dreyfus,
hysterical dressmaker.

[ALL LAUGHING]

That's very good, Picquart.
Very good indeed.

What did he look like?

Jailed for life.

And he acted
like some Jewish tailor,

counting the cost
of the buttons

as they were ripped off
his uniform.

[MAN LAUGHING]

[PLAYING PIANO] ♪ Soldiers of the French army

♪ We're joining
with the cavalry

♪ Fighting yids and
is all we need

♪ Wiping out those
filthy deeds

♪ French men,
we must all unite

♪ To fight the yids
with all our might

♪ Citizens it is your right

♪ To send these vermin
out of sight

♪ They can't talk right

♪ Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah

♪ They can't walk right

♪ Nah-nah-nah-nah
nah-nah-nah ♪

[CONTINUE SINGING]

[CHUCKLING]

And the two candidates?

Major Henry
and Colonel Picquart.

Who do the military police
recommend as a replacement

for the late,
lamented Colonel Saunders?

Major Henry has been
a damn good number two

at counterintelligence
for some years.

You could simply
promote him.

DE PELLIEUX:
He has experience
and enthusiasm.

He's pulled himself up
by his own bootstraps

and he did a splendid job
on the Dreyfus case.

That's a load
of damn nonsense
and you know it.

The counterintelligence
section is in
absolute shambles.

I know you caught
Dreyfus by mistake.

Had the German military
attache been more careful

and not left incriminating
documents in his
waste paper basket,

we'd still have no idea
that he had bought
Dreyfus wholesale.

What's needed
is a good staff officer.

BOISDEFFRE:
Even if he does come
from the cavalry.

Somebody that will ensure

that counterintelligence
dates and files its paperwork.

Does Picquart want to
go to counterintelligence?

He'll go wherever
he's sent.

And he'll make
a success of it.

Picquart.
One of us.

When you get settled in,
I want you to take a look
at the Dreyfus file, hmm?

Why did he do it?

That never came out
at the court-martial.

Why out of the blue,

after 15 years
in the army,

does a model
general staff officer

sit down and write to
the German military attache

offering him
that shopping list
of information?

Why?

Well, it's hardly for love
of the Germans, sir.

He made that
patently clear,
when he was my student.

Blackmail?
Mistresses?

No, he had a family life
that was almost
indecently moral.

Little boys' bums?

He wouldn't know
what to do with them.

Why don't we know?
What did we miss?

Thank goodness,
I won't be around
long enough

to see too much fighting
in the 20th Century.

Things have changed,
Picquart.

No fun in
being a soldier.

Not anymore.

That's exactly what
I said when they
put me here, General.

I'm a soldier,
not a policeman.

It had to be done.

Best man for the job.

[CHUCKLES]

Major Henry angry
at being passed over?

We managed
to work together.

I keep telling myself
we're in the same army
after all.

Succeed here
and your career is made.

You can get
anything you want.

Even the War Ministry.

Is it important to know
why Dreyfus did it?

After all,

he is a Jew.

You know,
what they're like.

Captain Dreyfus was
not court-marshaled
for being a Jew.

No. Of course not, sir.

But perhaps,
it was a mistake to make

one of them
a general staff officer.

I remember,
at military academy
he always tried too hard.

Ask a question,
he always answered first.

You can't despise a man
for being clever.

But for wanting everyone
to know about it?

He's dead.
As good as.

On Devil's Island
in solitary confinement.

Put the case to rest first.

Bury him.

HENRY: We have the book?

I was just
a garrison soldier
before this,

but there were
no opportunities
for promotion.

Once through here, Colonel,
you're not a virgin anymore.

Ten years ago,
without any warning,

the army sent me
to China.

I had to start from scratch

knowing virtually nothing
about the climate
or the natives.

Now, they put me here,
in counterintelligence,
where I know even less.

The army is about
getting men to blow
other men to pieces.

It's about reading
other people's mail.

Blackmail.

Paying servants to spy
on their masters.

Up top,
it's easy to forget.

Not down here.

There.

The note Dreyfus sent to
the German military attache

offering military secrets.

And the sample
of Dreyfus's handwriting
we took after his arrest.

The Dreyfus file.

They say that
at the beginning,

the court-martial
seemed to be going
Dreyfus' way.

Then counterintelligence
saw the judges in secret.

That's right.

And you told them
that it didn't matter

how flimsy the handwriting
evidence was,

you had
incontrovertible proof

that there was
a traitor and it was,
in fact, Dreyfus.

Yes.

I expected to see
such evidence in the file.

National security.

Can't go leaving
that sort
of stuff around.

Well, the proof
has to be somewhere.

The proof is
Dreyfus was found guilty.

Fair and square.
All above board.

Is there any
secret evidence?

Look,

only half a dozen
general staff officers

had access
to the information
being offered

and were also
in Paris that week.

It wasn't hard.

Not when everyone else
was a loyal Frenchman.

[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]

What country does
a Jew have? Hmm?

Where is his loyalty?

True enough.
Age-old question.

Still,

shouldn't handwriting
samples have been taken
from the other officers?

Just in case?

In case of what?
We had him. Why bother?

No doubts?

No... No second thoughts?

Even with Dreyfus persisting
in denying everything?

Well, he would,
wouldn't he?[PIANO PLAYING]

If it wasn't the yid,
who was it?

WOMAN: [SINGING] ♪ Arise children
of the fatherland

♪ For glory is ours by right

♪ Hateful banners
all raised against us

♪ Evil banners of tyranny

♪ Do you hear
the savage soldiers
in the fields?

♪ Killing our sons
and our loved ones

♪ We must take up arms,
citizens

♪ We're not safe

♪ With filthy yids around us[ALL LAUGHING]

♪ Destroy these filthy yids

♪ Restore our honor
and our gold

♪ Till not one more

♪ True traitor stands

♪ In France

♪ Our fatherland

Tell me about this man
Dreyfus allegedly
spied for.

He's a German
military attache,
Von Schwartzkoppen.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

NARRATOR: The German had,
shall we say,
some individual tastes.

Which enabled Picquart
to put a man on him,
so to speak.

And in a couple of months,
there was another letter.

PICQUART: Dismissed.

Esterhazy.

Colonel Picquart.

Thank you.

I have the honor,
General Boisdeffre,

to report
my assignment complete.

No reason can be found
for the treachery
of Captain Dreyfus.

Because the traitor is,
in fact, another man.

Army Intelligence
intercepted this postcard

from the German
military attache.

It was addressed
to one of our
general staff officers.

Colonel Picquart
immediately sent
for that officer's files

and in looking through
them came across
that officer's handwriting.

It reminded him
of the handwriting
in the Dreyfus file.

It turned out that
that officer wrote
the incriminating letter.

Not Captain Dreyfus.

That officer's name
is Major Count
Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy.

Esterhazy?

Esterhazy.

He drinks, he whores,
he gambles,
he's no husband,

and he tries to make up
for all these faults
by being a lousy officer,

but that doesn't
make him a traitor.

What about
this handwriting?

I mean, it's almost
as good a match
as that of Dreyfus'.

Inconclusive,
at best.

We can't arrest
a general staff officer

on the evidence
of a scrap of paper.

That is exactly
what happened
to Dreyfus.

He was a Jew
and a traitor.

So, there was no
real investigation?

Dreyfus covered us with...

Excrement,
begging your pardon, sir.

Now we got some
of our respect back

because we moved fast
and we got our conviction.

Open this up again,
think how bad
it makes the army look,

not just counterintelligence.

I cannot ignore this.

Can you ignore
the damage to
the men down there?

HENRY: Any day now,
we're going to be at
war with the Prussians.

That's what
all this is about.

Do you really want them
asking questions?

I say piss on anything
that gets in the way

of teaching these
poor bastards

how to shove their
bayonets three foot up
a German gut.

You were right
to bring this matter
to the attention

of your minister,
Boisdeffre.

Thank you.

There are political questions
to be considered here,

not just military ones.

I don't see how
we can avoid it, sir.

Esterhazy is the sort
of person that would do
anything for money.

And did he also have
access to the information
offered to the Germans?

Yes, he did.

He was also in Paris
that week.

It now appears possible
that Dreyfus was not.

Forget Dreyfus.

Dreyfus had nothing
to do with it.

Dreyfus has been tried
and found guilty.

Now what this latest
information tells us

is that there were
two spies on
the general staff.

The Jew Dreyfus
and the leper Esterhazy.

That's your
way out, General.

Isn't it perfectly plain?

Doesn't it fit
all the facts?

Thank you.

[BELL RINGS]

Yes, sir.

Two spies.

And known to each other.

One with a motive,
and the other without.

[CHUCKLES]

Neither the public
nor the press
will believe this.

They're not going
to know anything about it.

The Minister doesn't want
the public's confidence
in the army

stretched any further.

Now you keep
a discreet eye
on Esterhazy.

Make sure he doesn't
try and steal anymore
of the family silver.

Dreyfus stays where he is?

Of course
he stays where he is.

BOISDEFFRE:
Oh, come now, Picquart.

Can you honestly look
into your heart and say
you know that he's innocent?

More to the point,
have you got any proof of it?

NARRATOR: Picquart did
have one weakness.

His love for the wife
of another man.

And now he took up
an even more dangerous one.

He wrote a letter.

PICQUART:
"It is with regret that
I must formally set down

"my fears and reservations

"over the outcome
of this trial,

"this miscarriage of justice.

"Something has to be done.

"Sooner or later,
this will all become
public knowledge.

"Already there is
a disgraceful agitation
in the gutter press."

MINISTER: [READING]
"Against the sentence itself
and the army.

"How much better
we take the initiative
to investigate further

"rather than wait for it
to be forced on us."

Initiative?

I suggest we forge
a letter,

from Von Schwartzkoppen
to Esterhazy

asking for a meeting.

If Esterhazy shows up,

we've caught our spy.

There are two spies.

[CHUCKLES]

As Chief of
Counterintelligence,
General Gonse, I must insist,

there is no evidence
against Dreyfus
and never was.

[CHUCKLES] Dreyfus.

What does it
matter to you?

What does it matter
to any of us if one Jew rots
on Devil's Island?

He may be innocent.

You're our shining star,
Picquart.

Nobody has a brighter future
in the army than you.

I have shared
your doubts.

But, perhaps at
the end of the day,
we are wrong.

Perhaps Dreyfus is guilty.
That's all they're asking
us to accept.

Dreyfus is beside the point.

Esterhazy must be
investigated.

Be reasonable, Picquart.

Dreyfus's widow...

I'm sorry, his wife,
has gone to the press.

Is that what you want?

Is it?
You want us dragged
through the mud?

Leave it to your superiors.

No more letters.

DE PELLIEUX:
Your responsibility is
to the army.

GONSE: No more
senior officers.

[GRUNTS]

[PHONE RINGING]

Colonel?

Colonel, we are a republic.

When we come to
fight the Germans,
we'll be at a disadvantage

because we can't
send men to war
for anything as romantic as

a king, an emperor, a crown.

No sensible man
would allow himself
to be sent to war

for a politician.

Thus, there is the flag.

He'll fight for that

and the army
holds the flag.

And I am responsible
to tens of millions
of French men and women

to ensure that nothing
is done to destroy
the prestige of the army.

What would
you do, Colonel?

What should I do,
sitting behind this desk,

balancing a possible
injustice to one man

against the lives
of millions?

This goes into service
next month.

The Germans have it too.

It fires 600 rounds a minute.

It won't wound you,
it will saw you in half.

From now on, survival
on the battlefield

will be a matter
of statistics,

not of individual merit
or bravery.

The only thing that will
keep a man in the firing line
will be discipline

and the belief that
the high command
knows best.

That it will never,
that it can never,
make a mistake.

Are you prepared
to destroy that belief,
Colonel?

Men also fight for honor.

It's not honor
you're struggling with,
Colonel.

It's conscience.

And conscience
is a private thing.

When you put on
the scarlet and the gold,
Colonel,

you give up the right
to a private conscience.

You accept
the conscience
of the army

as expressed in
its code of honor.

And that takes precedence
over any personal code
you may have.

You're being
spoken of, Colonel,

as someone who could even
occupy this desk one day.

What do you say now?

I don't believe that
my personal code of honor

and the honor
of the army
are in conflict.

I would like to continue
the investigation
of Esterhazy

for the reasons
already stated.

Even though you know
the risks you're running
if the word gets out?

Yes.

Very well.
You must do as
you think best.

But bring me the answers.

Order.

[RINGS BELL]

Thank you, sir.

I wanted to have
a word with you
about Picquart.

He's being
very insubordinate.

He is also very ambitious.

A month out of Paris,
and he'll come round.

He's one of us.Mmm.

Esterhazy is to be arrested.

Yes, sir.
Very good, Sir.

You're ordered
to leave Paris.

Immediately.

There.

I understand
they're sending me
on an inspection tour

of the eastern defenses.

Lucky you.

To keep me
out of the way.

We all believe in you,
Picquart.

Nobody wants to
see you destroy
your career over this.

Not even the minister.

[CLICKS TONGUE]

Will Esterhazy
be arrested?

Until further notice,
you have no...

No official connection
with the Esterhazy affair.

[PLAYING PAINO]

And Dreyfus?

Damn it, you're well
out of this mess.

You should be thanking me.

General, are there things
I don't know?

Can you assure me that
I'm wrong?

That Dreyfus is guilty?

That there is
some secret proof
that he is, in fact,

a German agent?

Dreyfus stays where he is.

That is how he can serve
his country best.

There is more to this
than the career of
one artillery officer.

PICQUART: Eloise.

For how long, a week?

Two weeks? A month?

[INHALES]

I don't know.

Poor you.

All those dreary, provincial
garrison towns.

What happened?

Did you tread
on somebody's toes?

[GIRLS SINGING]
♪ Alfred Dreyfus,
Alfred Dreyfus

♪ Dirty Jew, dirty Jew

♪ Safe on Devil's Island
safe on Devil's Island

♪ Let him stew
let him stew ♪

They amuse us.

GONSE: Picquart is returning
to Paris today.

Is he still agitating
about Dreyfus?

DE PELLIEUX: Yes, he is.

Our North African bases
are due for reassessment
any time now.

I was wondering
who to dispatch.

Well, Picquart's the man.
It's obvious.

You get his marching orders
in the morning.

Certainly.

[PIANO PLAYING]

Algiers first.

Then Tunisia.

God knows where else.

I'll be seeing rather a lot
of our overseas possessions,
I'm afraid.

But you've already
been away from Paris
for weeks.

It's too bad,
you've missed
half a season.

I've received my orders.
I leave Paris
tomorrow morning.

I had hoped that
I would have a chance
to say goodbye to you.

Properly.

I can't.

We have guests for dinner.

[SIGHS]

I miss you.

[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]

Thank you. It was lovely.
It really was.

Would you be so kind
as to play another
for our guests?

The last piece
was wonderful.

Thank you.

[DOOR OPENS]

DE PELLIEUX: News from Tunis.

Poor old Picquart
is laid up in hospital.

Riding accident.

Oh.

Bad luck.

Do you think he'd mind
if I commandeered
his office for a while?

It's getting
a bit cramped in here.

I'll make it official.

[SHUDDERING]

PICQUART: "My recent escape
from death prompts me
to set pen to paper

"from a conviction
that I do not want to die
knowing what I know,

"and leaving behind nothing.

"I address this letter
to the President
of the Republic,

"to be given to him

"only at my
specific instruction
or upon my death.

"These are my
personal observations

"on what has become known
as the 'Dreyfus Affair'.

"In the hours following
the discovery of a spy
on the general's staff,

"it is possible that
a terrible injustice
was done.

"The original injustice
was compounded

"by the refusal to take action
when Esterhazy's
misconduct came to light.

"I accept that certain
of my fellow officers

"still sincerely believe
Dreyfus to be guilty.

"Others, I regret,
have decided
he should be sacrificed

"in the name
of a greater good,

"the prestige of the army.

"I believe them, however,
to be more concerned

"with their own
prestige and careers."

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I see you're settling in.

What's that noise?

Mahler.What?

A Viennese Jew.

Picquart is very fond of him
since he became a Catholic.

[LAUGHING]

Can a leopard change
its spots?

Picquart is on his feet again,
and he wants
to come back to Paris.

Does he now?

I was just about
to send him to Libya.

Things are hotting up
there again.

It's just the place
for an ambitious officer.

[GLASS SHATTERS]

BOISDEFFRE:
Whatever you think of him,

whatever has got
into his head,

Colonel Picquart
is the sort of officer

that the French Army
cannot do without.

I will not have him
put at risk skirmishing

with native tribesman.

This has gone far enough.

Bring him back.

[INDISTINCT SCREAMING]

MAN: Dreyfus is innocent.

Those who are persecuting
him fail to perform
their patriotic duty.

They are scoundrels
who degrade
the name of France!

This shall rise!

Dreyfus sold France.

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

PICQUART: I sent these to you
as my lawyer for safekeeping.

I suppose I was afraid
I'd only imagined
writing them.

There's nothing to add.

Shall I just leave them
in the safe?

Yes.

I took the liberty
of telling someone
that you'd be here.

Madame Dreyfus.

And her attorney,
Monsieur Labori.

I need someone
from the military
to speak out, now.

Madame,
I am a serving officer.
I'm under an oath.

You believe,
that he's innocent?

I cannot tell you that.

But you do.

You do believe that?

I cannot answer
that question.

You had no right
to do this.

I resent it.
I resent it deeply.

I will decide
my own actions
in this matter.

It is I who
employ you.

The name Esterhazy
keeps cropping up.

Is counterintelligence
investigating him?

Can you tell us that?

Can you?

I can neither confirm it
nor deny it.

MADAME DREYFUS:
Is Esterhazy the spy?

Is there a case
against him?

Colonel Picquart has been
ordered to stay silent
on these matters.

I regret having
troubled you all
by arranging this meeting.

MADAME DREYFUS:
My husband is
a brother officer.

Is he not entitled
to as much loyalty
as the generals?

As Esterhazy?

I have done what I can.

Perhaps I should not even
have done that.

I can do nothing more.

Help me right this
wrong, Colonel Picquart.

Tell yourself that is what
the honor of the army
really requires.

Tell yourself that's what
loyalty really means.

Tell yourself anything.

But help me.

[SOBBING] Help me...I am not for hire, Madame.

Excuse me.

Say those papers
were to be left

by an oversight
in this room for 20 minutes.

Say that Madame Dreyfus
and myself
happen to be here,

and accidentally
found them.

Wouldn't that leave you
in the clear, in honor

and in conscience?

France will fall
the day her army
takes instruction

in matters of honor
and conscience
from her lawyers.

MADAME DREYFUS: Without you,
there can be no retrial.

He's dying, Colonel.

PICQUART: I almost died
in the Libyan desert, madam.

My trade is soldiering.

So is your husband's.

MADAME DREYFUS:
Colonel Picquart?

If he weren't Jewish,
wouldn't you
have done more?

[MUSIC PLAYING ON GRAMAPHONE]

I'm being followed.

My mail is being read.

Welcome back to Paris.

You've been placed
on indefinite leave.

Enjoy it.

[DOOR SLAMS SHUT]

PICQUART:
I don't know anything
but the army.

If you take that from me,
what am I?

Who am I?I hate them!

I hate them for what
they're doing to you.

When Dreyfus was arrested,
they left him alone with
a pistol for 10 minutes.

Sometimes...

Sometimes, I wish
he'd used it on himself.

[DOOR CLOSES]

[EXHALES]

Esterhazy, Esterhazy,
Esterhazy!

You're obsessed with him.

Is it a grudge?

Why have you
got it in for him?

Esterhazy is a traitor,
that's what I have
against him.

Petty of me, I know.

GONSE: No doubt this
is all rubbish.

This is nonsense.
No, no, no, no.

You, you...

You can hardly be
right about Esterhazy
and everybody else wrong.

It doesn't work that way.

He can't be...
[SPLUTTERING]
All right, then.

Mmm.[SNICKERING]

Look at the trouble
you are causing
for yourself, for all of us.

Now it's official.
That ignorant oaf, Henry,
has replaced you for good.

Yes. And you are
siding with that
ignorant oaf, Henry,

in protecting Esterhazy.

Any day now,
someone is going to come up
with a bright idea

that you are working
for the Germans yourself,

trying to destroy
the morale of the army,

the soldier's faith
in his officers
and the high command.

That's right.

You see...

[GRUNTING]

How could you be right
and everybody else wrong?

You know how rumors
get around?

"Picquart is in it
with Dreyfus."

"Picquart has sold out too."

"Why else should he be
fighting so hard
for the Jew traitor?"

"He must be in the pay
of the Germans himself."

And how does
such rumors
get started?

Major Henry, perhaps?

You've got to be
very careful, Picquart.

All the military police
would need would be
one scrap of paper

with your name on it.

And get this
into your head, Colonel.

Your fellow officers
are determined

that the Army of the Republic
will have the strength
and the pride

and the confidence in itself
to defeat the Germans
in the next war,

even if it means that
a dozen Picquarts
rot on Devil's Island

alongside a dozen Dreyfus'.

[CLATTERS]

You can tell

my brother officers

that I will not go
to my grave

knowing that the army
has protected a traitor,

and disgraced
an innocent man.

All this for a Jew?

Yes.

Terrible business.

Hateful business.

How did we get here?

Who knows?

Hardly seems
to matter anymore

whether Dreyfus
did it or not,
do you see that?

Principle now.

Who is to be believed,

us or the muckrakers?

Who runs the country?

The mob.

Shameful,
but there you are.

Principle, sir.

Exactly which principle
are we talking about?

It's all very clear
to me now.

For a while back there,
like you, I didn't know
where my duty lay.

Counterintelligence works
for the real government,
the state within the state.

Black is white
there sometimes,
maybe most of the time.

The decent thing
isn't doable.

Your duty is to do what
you might otherwise
find distasteful.

Nose-pickings
like Major Henry
are born knowing that.

Men of honor,

like you,

like me,

have to learn it.

General, look at
the evidence with me.

Argue with me.

Show me that I'm wrong.

If Major Henry is the face
of the army of the future,

then I need somebody
with a sense of honor
watching the watchers.

Do you understand that,
Colonel?

I'm sorry, General.

The first thing I would do
if my leave of absence
was lifted

would be to ask
for an official inquiry

into both the Dreyfus
and the Esterhazy cases

from the very beginning.

I am sorry, Colonel.

It is too late now.

A few weeks ago, perhaps.

But now it is too late,
I cannot help you.

And you were
the best of us.

[ORGAN PLAYING]

Well?

He's adamant.
I can't change his mind.

You try and think
of something.

There's another problem.

Count Esterhazy.
He's been to see me.

He knows
he's under suspicion.

He wants his name cleared.

Otherwise,
he's quite prepared
to make difficulties.

Does he suggest
how we can do that?

A public inquiry.

He wants a public inquiry?

As long as
he can be assured
of the verdict beforehand.

Who would believe that
we need Esterhazy now
more than he needs us?

Esterhazy demands.

Esterhazy positively insists.

[CHUCKLING]

He knows his rights.

He demands
a public inquiry. Hmm?

[CHUCKLING]

If I understand this rightly,
Major Esterhazy,

you received a mysterious
communication, unsigned,

asking you to be
on the Alexander Bridge
at a specific time.

A lady in a veil
approached you.

She did not reveal
her identity,

but said she heard
Colonel Picquart
talking in his sleep.

He was talking about
the Dreyfus affair.

And about his part
in "Destroying evidence

"that linked Dreyfus
to the case."

Then he started raving
that you, Major Esterhazy,
were his enemy,

and that he would
do anything
to implicate you.

Shocked by
Picquart's duplicity,

this loyal Frenchwoman
recounted this information
in a letter,

which she handed to you.

She disappeared
into the crowd.

You opened the letter.
It confirmed all she said.

You gave the letter
to your superiors,

who gave you this signed
and dated receipt for it.

Sadly, before a copy
could be made,
the letter disappeared.

Alas, no trace of it
has come to light,

and neither has
the veiled lady.[ALL LAUGHING]

Well, that seems
clear enough.

You may stand down.

BAILIFF:
Call Colonel Picquart.

NARRATOR: Now, at last,
the truth can be told
under oath.

You think so?
[LAUGHS]

The generals had other ideas.

And I wish to hear
Colonel Picquart's
evidence in camera.

Clear the court.[CROWD GASPS]

WOMAN: What?[INDISTINCT TALKING]

This tribunal finds

Major Ferdinand
Walsin Esterhazy

innocent of all charges.

Court dismissed.

What is happening to justice?

NARRATOR: Now do you see
the lunacy of it all?

The generals
so devoted to France

rushed to shake the hand
of a man they knew
to be a traitor to France.

[CHUCKLES]

The farce was observed
by Emile Zola.

Two days later,
he gave his opinion.

MINISTER: Zola accuses you
by name and by rank.

General Gonse,
General de Pellieux,

General Boisdeffre,
and half a dozen others.

First he has you botch
the regional investigation,

then add lie to lie
to cover up
and to shield Esterhazy.

Libels!
Criminal, wicked libels!

Gentlemen, you must
defend yourselves.

Bring an action
for libel against him
in court.

And drag it into
the light of day?

Put it all
in front of a jury?

Damn press!

MINISTER:
We have nothing to hide.

The people love the army.
They trust their generals.

What about
Colonel Picquart?

Zola's bound
to call him as a witness.

NARRATOR: Zola was delighted
to be sued.

Was he France's most
famous, brilliant novelist,
as the public thought?

Or a tireless self-promoter
as I thought?

Whichever, he did get
the story fixed in the
public mind, once and for all.

And now Picquart
sees the lunacy of it.

If the generals could
shake hands with a traitor,

then he was free of his oath,

at least in his own mind.

Captain Dreyfus was sentenced
to life imprisonment

on the evidence
of a single scrap
of handwriting

which was as much like
the handwriting in
that incriminating letter

as yours or mine.

The panic
in counterintelligence
that morning was such

that had a dog with a pen
tied to its tail made
any markings on paper,

they would have sworn
that the dog
had written the letter.

Provided, of course,
that it was
an unpopular dog.

A Jewish dog.

A half day's work
and they might have had
the traitor then and there.

Esterhazy right under
their very noses.WOMAN: Traitor.

Esterhazy in Paris that week,
and in possession of all
the relevant information.

Esterhazy!

They could have had him
in jail by lunchtime!

And we need not have
torn ourselves apart
like this.

WOMAN: Jews are not traitors!

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

[GAVEL BANGING]

I shall be brief.

I confirm on every point
and every detail

the evidence given
by my fellow generals.

That is all I have to say
on the evidence.

MAN: General...I will not be questioned
upon it.

BOISDEFFRE: But allow me,
as a soldier,
to tell you all something.

You are the jury.

You are the nation.

If the nation does not
have confidence in
the chiefs of its army,

if the nation does not
have confidence

in those responsible
for national defense

in these troubled times,

then we are willing
to hand over
this heavy task.

You

simply have to
say the word.

That is all
I have to say.

Except I refute,
in the name of
the Armies of France,

every word, every mischief,

every lie spoken

by the former Chief
of Counterintelligence,

the renegade
Colonel Picquart.

[CROWD CHEERING]

[ALL CLAMORING]

I know Picquart tampered
with the evidence because
I saw him with my own eyes.

He's right.

Things were added
to the Dreyfus file.

He should know because
he put them there

in an effort to throw
doubt on the conviction.

You saw me do this
how many times?

At least once.
I was passing
your office door.

I tampered with the evidence
forgetting that
my office door was open?

I recognized his handwriting,
Your Honors.

You recognized my handwriting
from the open office door.

I am an expert
in counterintelligence work.

Would I make a mistake
about something
so important?

What I said stands.
Picquart is lying.

To that I oppose
the most categorical denial!

[GROANS]

[SWORDS CLANK]

[BOTH YELLING]

MAN: Just a flesh wound.

[GROANS]

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

JUDGE: In the name
of the French people,

the accused, Emile Zola,
is guilty. Take him down.

It is the army
that is guilty, not I!

[CROWD CLAMORING]

I'm an innocent man!

[GAVEL BANGING]

Dreyfus is innocent!
The proof is on the man!

NARRATOR: Zola spoke the truth
and was convicted of libel.

Picquart spoke the truth
and was charged with treason.

I'm afraid the guard
broke some while inspecting
your things.

No matter.

These will do for now.

You'll be tried
for espionage.

Which means a military court.

Which means,
you don't get a chance to
put your case to a jury.

If any jury
would acquit me,
anyway.

That day in my office
you refused Madame Dreyfus.

I know part
of the reason
was her race.

I'm not here
for Madame Dreyfus.

[SIGHS] Or even
Dreyfus himself.

I refused Madame Dreyfus
because I was bound
by an oath.

When the army dismissed me,
I was released from that oath.

You're an army officer
to the tips of your boots.

Georges, people will
wonder where
your loyalty's gone.

My loyalty is not to
any individual but to
the institution of the army.

The idea of the army.

Listen.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

What is it that you hear?

Eighty men,

overweight, most of them,

the brass, drunks,
most likely.

The lead violinist
beats his wife,

the flutist has bad gums
and his breath will
not be flat at 20 places

and the private life
of the conductor is a scam.

But that is not
what you hear.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

That...

That is what you hear.

The idea.

The idea.

The spirit.

MINISTER: With Picquart safely
where he should be,

I think we can
confidently say,

"Dreyfus affair?
There is no Dreyfus affair."

Well, that's a relief!
Ooh, yes, lovely.

Mmm.

Thank you, Minister.
Yeah, lovely.

Gentlemen, I think
I should tell you,

I have been awarded
another department.

Congratulations,
Minister.Thank you, Pellieux.

However, before
I leave this office,

the President
has asked me

to ensure that
the public mind
is set entirely at rest.

MINISTER: Captain Cuignet.

Captain Cuignet.

Captain Cuignet, you will
conduct a final
and complete investigation

into the documentation
contained in the Dreyfus file,

and in the file relating
to Major Esterhazy.

You'll be thorough
and impartial

and you will demonstrate
once for all

that the General's staff
and the Minister of War

have conducted
themselves impeccably

throughout this whole
business. Thank you.

[STOMPS FOOT]

That Captain Cuignet,
Minister,

are you satisfied
with his credentials?

Rest assured, General.

The man's a plodder.
Nothing more.

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING][DOOR CLOSES]

Yes?

Documents have been added
into this file.

[EXHALES]

Well?

Apart from all the stuff
which pertains to the trials,

we keep finding
new evidence.

Finding it?
Or manufacturing it?

I beg your pardon, Captain?

At least one of
the documents is a forgery.

Two letters have been
joined together.

The top half of one
added to the lower half
of another.

It's not possible.

Look at it.

How dare you speak to
the head of
counterintelligence like this?

I'm acting under
the direct orders
of the Minister for War.

I demand an answer.

Who forged this document?

How many other
forgeries are there?

Well?

I thought
you should know, sir.

The plodder is ransacking
Henry's office.

And Henry is still in bed
with his wife, I suppose?

No, sir. He's under arrest.

Telephone the Minister
for an immediate appointment!

This is all getting
out of hand.

No need to announce me!

But, Sir...I am expected.

I really must do something
about this plodder
of yours, Minister.

MERCIER: He's treading
on far too many toes.

Good morning, General.

As you can see, I have stepped
into my predecessors shoes
ahead of schedule.

I'm glad you anticipated
my need to summon you here.

Captain Cuignet
delivered his report.

I'd appreciate your comments.

I deny it.
I deny everything.

For pity's sake,
it's not even
a very good forgery.

It was only one piece
of the evidence.

It means retrying Esterhazy,
court martialing you,
bringing Dreyfus back!

It means that France
will go on
tearing itself apart

while the Germans look on!

You know the pressure
we were under?

He was covering his tracks.
We have to make
the case water-tight.

We believed you!
We believed everything
you told us!

No, General Gonse.

We believed what
we wanted to believe.

I have a wife
and a little boy,
Captain.

I have a wife.

And a little...
[SOBBING]

Major Henry will know
what he has to do.

He understands
the requirements of honor,
I hope.

But if he does not,

we must help him.

"I am a victim of Jews
and their allies

"and I entreat you to tell
our son that I deny
to my dying breath

"having forged anything.

"The letter is genuine.

"If there is a forged letter
in the file,

"it was put there
by Picquart
and his supporters

"to discredit
the generals and myself.

"There is a secret file
of evidence that
cannot be revealed

"for reasons
of national security.

"Please believe
that I am innocent.

"And that one day,
the truth will come out,

"and Dreyfus and Picquart
exposed for the traitors
they are."

Fine sentiments.
Nobly expressed.

Now, all you have to do
is sign off with a flourish.

"I love you,

"as I love my country.

"Pray for me.

"Your devoted husband..."

All this talk of love.

Not too flowery, is it?

No. Not at all.

Sign it.

[CLEARS THROAT]
I, uh, I...

I have bought you
a few creature comforts.

There are some
excellent Havanas there.

There is also a shaving kit
which includes,
quite naturally, a razor,

which has a particularly
fine edge.

I selected it myself.

Make us proud of you.

Give him 10 minutes,
not a second longer.

And leave that
by the body.

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

[BELL TOLLING]

GUARD 1: Wake up!
Come on, wake up!

GUARD 1: Get up this minute!
Get up now!GAURD 2: Come on, get up.

Come on, move it!
What is all this rubbish here!

Come on,
move yourself!

Prisoner to be transferred
to the Cherche-Midi

and held in military custody
until further notice.

I want it under record
that if I'm found dead
in my cell,

it will be murder
and not suicide.

Silence! [BANGS GAVEL]
Take him down.

Remanded in military custody!

Make sure they all know,

I would never take
that way out.

Still think the army
has a soul?

Still hear the music?

Yes. More than ever.

Sometimes, don't you wish
you'd never thrown
your lot in with Dreyfus?

Hmm, I had no choice.

Somehow, I'm...

I'm tied to him.

Oh, I know,
I'm a level-headed soldier,
but still...

Somehow, I'm tied to him.

I was his teacher
at the military academy.

On the morning
he was arrested,

even before he knew
he was to be charged,

I happened to be there.

I was the last person
to speak to him
as a free man.

I was a witness
at his degradation.

And of all people,
they chose me to finally
lay his case to rest.

The irony is,

I'd never been able to think
of him as anything but a Jew.

I never liked him.

[SIGHS]

Isn't that strange?

BOISDEFFRE: The circumstances

surrounding
Major Henry's death

compel me, sir,
to resign my commission.

When I was a young soldier,

I found my commanding officer
in a dead drunk one night.

Two of his troopers
had been kidnapped
by tribesmen.

A headman was brought in.

And it was soon clear
that he would rather
die under torture

than say where they were.

My commanding officer
stepped in.

Time was running out.

He explained to the headman

what his honor
meant to him as a soldier.

And he promised him,
on his honor,

that if the troopers
were returned,
he'd take no action.

They got the men back

and you can guess the rest.

They had the headman
and his son shot.

Burned the village down.

He had to.

That's how it is.
Didn't like it.
Got drunk after.

But he'd done
the right thing.

When it came to honor
our duty,

duty came first.

I will not have
the Army of the Republic
destroyed by Dreyfus!

The traitor and
pornographer Zola was right
about one thing,

there is a conspiracy here,

between the Jews
and socialists.

We are fighting now
for the life
of the state itself!

We shall fight on.

NARRATOR: In San Francisco,
they greeted every
arriving boat with,

"Is Dreyfus free?
Is Picquart still in prison?"

In Australia, in Finland,
in Saint Petersburg and Lima,

fistfights broke out
at the very mention
of the affair.

But at the center
of the storm, in prison
for 12 months,

Picquart, they tell me,
was at peace.

[KEYS JANGLING][DOOR OPENS]

The original verdict
is annulled.

Dreyfus is to be shipped back
from Devil's Island and
retried by court martial.

You are to be
freed immediately,
pending your own trial.

[DOOR CLOSES]

[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]

[AUDIENCE
CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

WOMAN: Dreyfus the vampire!

MAN: Go on, traitor!

WOMAN: Watch out!MAN: Hey, watch out!

MAN: It's Picquart!

The maestro.

MAN: Picquart is here!

[CROWD YELLING]

NARRATOR: This is
the France that gave us
the Age of Reason.

Picquart, Lafayette.

You didn't know
who you were.

You weren't alive unless
you knew where
you stood on the affair.

[CLAMORING]

Picquart loved two things,

the army and Eloise.

He'd lost the army already

but Eloise had
always been there.

Georges. Georges.What is it? Are you...

They've told him
about us.

They want him
to kill you.

They'll do anything
to silence you.

Are you sure
you're all right?

Georges,
you can't stay here.
You have to leave.

Leave Paris? Now?

They're taking me
away tonight.

But my things
are packed.

We can be gone
within the hour.

Where?
Where would we go?

We could go to Montreal.

I have friends there...Eloise, I want
nothing more than...

I...

Georges.I have to testify.

I'm a soldier.

I'm the only one
who can speak out
and be believed.

Georges,
don't you understand?

This is our last chance.

We'll never see
each other again
if we don't go now.

I do love you.

Then you'll come
away with me.I can't.

I'll see you
at the station
at four o'clock.

[CLAMORING]

NARRATOR: They moved
his trial from Paris.

They were afraid
Paris couldn't
stand the storm.

So the storm
followed the trial

to the city of Rennes.

Name?Alf...

[WHISPERS] Alfred Dreyfus.

Alfred Dreyfus,
Captain of Artillery,

39 years old.

This letter was sent
to the German
military attache.

Did you write it?

[TREMBLING]

[TEARFUL] I...

I am innocent, my Colonel.

[PROTESTING]

Inspector Bertillon.

The conclusion
is inescapable.

Dreyfus wrote the letter
in a handwriting

deliberately chosen
to look like his own

so that if caught
he could claim

someone had copied
his own hand in order
to throw the blame on him.

If I understand you,
Monsieur Bertillon,

you're saying
that my client

deliberately imitated
his own handwriting.

JUDGE: Monsieur Labori,
please.

On this, they want to
send Captain Dreyfus

back to life imprisonment,

in solitary
confinement,

in irons
chained to a bed
24 hours a day

under constant guard.

Conditions of imprisonment
are not the concern
of this court martial.

Bring in the next witness.

If there was the slightest
doubt in my mind,

I'd be the first to
tell Captain Dreyfus

I was honestly mistaken.

But you know
I'm innocent.
You know!

If there'd been a mistake,

I would have
done everything
to put it right.

It is your duty!

[CLAMORING]

I know what my duty is.

Monsieur Picquart.

In the late
summer of 1894,

Major Count
Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy

offered his services
as a spy...

[CLAMORING]

Silence in the courtroom!

[NARRATOR CHUCKLING]

Did anyone dare wonder
about the journey
he had made?

He'd been one of them.

And now he could explain
how they'd each
told their first lie

for perfectly understandable
patriotic reasons

and then watched as
their lies became evil.

Evil by men of goodwill

in the name
of their country.

Amusing, isn't it?

So, here we are
after all this time.

The generals
will still insist
that black is white...

[CLAMORING]

And water runs uphill.

And in the teeth
of the evidence,

there are some
who still believe them.

All I ever wanted,

all I ever asked,

was that
the truth be told.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

[BOOING]

The nation could've
been spared all this

if those involved
had asked themselves
this simple question,

"What is the truth?"

Not...

Not...

"What would I like
the truth to be?

"What would my superiors,
my colleagues,

"my country
like to hear?"

[AUDIENCE JEERING]

NARRATOR: He had infuriated
the mob already.

But then he had
the audacity to
hold out his arm

to the wife of the Jew.

[AUDIENCE JEERING]

Acquit.

Acquit.

Traitor!

Acquit.

[CHEERING]

Convict.Convict.

Convict.

Convict.

What! No!

Convict.

[ALL SINGING]

In the name
of the French people,

by a majority
of five votes to two,

the accused is guilty.

[CHEERING]

There are, however,
extenuating circumstances.

[AUDIENCE GROANING]

Accordingly,
the accused is sentenced

to deportation and exile
on Devil's Island.

They are placing
an offer on the table

that we will have to take
very, very seriously.

They are considering
a pardon

and a general amnesty.

It means that he doesn't
go back to Devil's Island

and that all charges
against everyone
in the affair

will be dropped.

But I will still have
the right to sue those
who libeled me

and drove me
from the army?

No.

What about the forgeries?

All charges, Colonel.
All.

[SOBBING]How can I thank you?

Is it really true, I...

I hardly dared...

I hardly...LAWYER:
It is true, Captain.

And he won't
have to go back?

He will be free.

He will be with you.

And he will be stained.

If you accept this pardon,

you will be virtually
admitting your guilt.

You have to be willing
to prove your innocence,

even if it means
going back there.

As ever,
the Colonel is right.

To hell with a pardon,

we want to hear
"Not guilty."

We want Dreyfus free,

and the generals
in the dock,
and the politicians.

I know you're tired.

The whole world is tired.

A shabby compromise.

Shall we fight on?

We will accept
the pardon.

Colonel.

Colonel.

A pardon says you did it.

And now you ask for mercy.

That isn't what
I've been fighting for.

I will die there.

You will keep your honor.

It will kill me, Colonel.

Captain Dreyfus,
you chose to be
a soldier.

NARRATOR: He was such
an inflexible thing,

a man of too much honor.

A great man.

Well, there was
a bit of greatness there.

Nobody's perfect.

MAN: I hereby name you
Knight of the Legion of Honor.

NARRATOR: It took six more
years for the army to relent
and reinstate Dreyfus.

Picquart was there to see it.

He had finally forgiven
Dreyfus for being human.

Picquart became
the Minister for War.
[CHUCKLES]

He never had a chance
to show his stuff.

He died just before
the war they'd all
been waiting for.

You see, a comedy.

Would you care
for some brandy?

No, thank you, no.
Please.

A glass of brandy,
my dear, would you?

Your editor
mentioned a small fee.

What's even odder,
there really was no crime
committed in the first place.

No information
actually changed hands.

And it was
worthless anyway.

The Germans knew it all
to begin with.

What did Esterhazy
think of Picquart?

Picquart. [SNIFFS]

Picquart did
what he had to do,

just as Esterhazy did.

But who could trust
a man without any flaws?

Well, he had flaws,
he didn't like Jews.

That's right,
he didn't like Jews.

Now, Esterhazy...
Esterhazy liked Jews.

It was the French
he didn't like.

Hmm.

Ah, well, there's no doubt
that Picquart was really
the best of them.

Only really
from the last century.

Then can I perhaps say
that Esterhazy

was the only
20th century man
among them?

My dear fellow,

the first 20th century man.

Would you mind
autographing this book

about the Dreyfus affair
for me before I leave?

Ah.

[CHUCKLES]