Original subtitles

Paris, 28 June 1973

Got time for breakfast?

I have to be at the theatre by eight.

Doubts remain as to the origin of the explosion

that killed Mohammed Boudia,

but the political context of the incident is clear.

Boudia was a fervent partisan of the Palestinian cause.

Some people even maintain

he ran the "Black September" terror cell in France.

Arab sources place this car bombing

in the series of assassinations

undertaken by Israeli secret service

that claimed the life last January of a Fatah delegate in Paris.

Beirut, one month later

Don't drive in circles. I know Beirut.

Head of the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine)

Paris, winter 1973

Head of the PFLP in Europe

Are you André?

Come in.

We'll work together. You in London, me in Paris.

Tell me nothing. No address, no number.

Choose a contact you trust, who can serve as a mailbox.

Can you use one?

I'm used to more serious weapons.

This is all I can offer.

Five? That's all?

London, a few days later

Something to drink?

Whisky.

I'll get it.

- Hurry and get that done. - I know.

- Is he punished? - No, but I stay on his case.

Having trouble at school?

- I failed a test. - Why?

I don't concentrate.

Why not? I told you O-levels were hard.

Anyway, if I flunk, I'll do like you.

How's that?

Teach Spanish. At least it's my language.

What do you mean?

I have a degree in Economy.

- From Moscow University! - And?

It's worthless!

- Says who? - Mom.

You told him that?

You can't deny it, Ilich.

No respect!

The chairman of the retailer Marks and Spencer

was seriously wounded yesterday at his home

when a masked man fired at him.

Vice president of the Zionist Federation,

Sieff has publicly sided with the Israeli cause.

PLO Spokesman

You skipped the demonstration against Pinochet's coup.

They bore me shitless and serve no purpose.

Demonstrations never change a thing.

Chileans need to know we're behind them.

The Chilean generals and the CIA don't care.

Where did picketing the coup in Uruguay get us?

They're still killing the Tupamaros. It's war.

It can't be won by picketing.

How then?

There are other methods.

Such as?

Words get us nowhere.

It's time for action.

What kind of action?

We have to commit.

Commit to what?

To the revolution.

How do you mean?

By covert actions?

By resistance.

I've formed a group.

I want you to join us.

What kind of group?

I can't tell you yet.

But we're not nihilists.

We want to do good.

Ilich, fighting capitalism with guerrilla means is romantic,

but doomed to failure.

No more desperate causes. They lead nowhere.

- So we do nothing? - Is that what I do?

You talk politics in London cafes.

Is that the answer?

While they kill our comrades in Chile and Jordan.

I told you what I saw.

The balance of power is against us.

- A myth. - Not true. Look at Che!

He ended up dead. Despite his experience!

Why fight the right in Latin America?

You think Latin American dictators operate alone?

Gringos pull the strings.

Overthrow them and imperialism still wins!

I'm advocating an internationalist struggle

uniting revolutionaries the world over.

Look how the Vietcong disgraced the gringos.

Squashed them like shit.

The balance of power isn't against us.

The fight I propose will lead us to glory.

Glory? That's what you want. To be admired!

That's what drives you.

Bourgeois arrogance hidden behind revolutionary rhetoric!

Just another selfish, two-bit petit-bourgeois!

I'm talking about true glory.

Not what the Zionist media drones on about.

But the pleasure of doing one's duty in silence.

Behind every bullet we fire, there will be an idea.

Because we act in harmony with our conscience.

You say I'm arrogant? I guess I am.

For defending the innocent.

You know what? Look at me when I talk!

You'll be hearing my name a lot.

What's more,

it's no longer Ilich.

It's Carlos.

Head of Anti-terrorism, DST

French Customs. This way, please.

Come here.

What happened?

Our Japanese comrades were arrested.

We have to act fast.

Is everything ready?

This way.

It's all in here.

You'll take that suitcase to London.

Today.

What's in it?

What?

Weapons.

And documents.

Keep it at your place

until I come back.

Paris is no longer safe.

Now we meet André.

There's something you should know.

In Beirut they don't trust him.

He got orders to share his duties with me.

With you?

I thought you were too young.

I've shown them what I'm worth.

From now on, follow only my instructions.

Why is she here?

She's taking the valise to London by train.

- Any news from the Japanese? - None.

He's not picking up. The hideout was found.

The network's down.

There's nothing on them. They'll be deported.

Furuya talked. For sure.

I got instructions from Beirut.

The Japanese there are hysterical.

He knows too much. They want him back.

We'll help.

Why us?

At Lod Airport, they died for our cause.

We have a debt.

The Hague, Netherlands

A few days later

French Embassy in The Netherlands

13 September 1974

It's right here.

Turn left at the next light.

We missed the street.

Go back and make a left.

The Ambassador's car!

We're late. Carlos left.

- What now? - We go anyway.

Let's go.

Who are they?

I found him!

Just before five o'clock this afternoon

a commando of three members of the Japanese Red Army

stormed the French Embassy in the Hague

and took the Ambassador hostage, with eight members of his staff.

The Red Army immediately stated its demand:

the liberation of one of their men

from the Santé Prison in Paris.

Yes, I'll ask them.

Gentlemen, the news is bad.

They said no to a chemical toilet.

Given the circumstances, it would have come in handy.

Paris, Santé Prison

Head of the Anti-Gang Brigade

Tell this dickhead if anyone gets hurt,

I'll blow his brains out.

With the approval of Prime Minister Jacques Chirac.

Tonight the commando expressed further demands.

They want France to give them one million dollars,

as well as the use of a Boeing jet.

They'll take the Ambassador with them

after releasing the other hostages.

I understand the technical difficulties,

but their leader seems to care less.

If the ultimatum isn't met in an hour,

I can confirm that the commando

has chosen its first target: the Ambassador.

That is, myself.

Very well.

Paris, the next day

What are these dumb Japs up to?

- What's going on? - Time's up. No one's dead.

- Isn't Furuya in Holland? - So what?

There's no plane or crew! It's useless.

- What will you do? - Act for them.

Algerian-style. Sudden bloody terror.

It happened at 5:20pm,

when the Drugstore St-Germain is packed.

According to witnesses, the assailant,

in the 2nd floor restaurant,

threw a grenade to the floor below.

We didn't see corpses

but we saw lots of women and kids lying in pools of blood.

The police took them away.

AFP?

I attacked, in the name of the Japanese Red Army,

the Drugstore owned by the Jew, Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet.

Strike a deal with our comrades within 24 hours

or a movie theatre will be next.

This will be the only warning.

This Red Army is already notorious.

Recall, for example, the carnage at the Lod Airport in Tel Aviv

which left 26 dead and 86 wounded in 1972.

The fanaticism of the Red Army...

I understand. I'll tell them.

At 10:30pm yesterday, after much suspense,

the Air France jet left the Amsterdam airport.

On board: the three Japanese terrorists armed with guns

plus Furuya and a ransom of 300,000 dollars.

That is, one and a half million francs.

Paris, two months later

Like I said, revolution is underway.

Thanks to a real, internationalist coalition.

I want to be part of it.

Welcome aboard.

In Colombia the April 19th Movement went underground.

You know their motto.

"For the people, with the arms, to the power!"

This is where I work.

Doing what?

I clean houses.

Three times a week.

But it's fine.

Need any money? I can help.

How?

I can't say now but...

I'll help.

No more humiliating jobs.

November, 1974

Yasser Arafat at the UN

I come bearing an olive branch

and a freedom fighter's gun.

Do not let the olive branch fall from my hands.

Do not let the olive branch fall from my hands.

Do not let the olive branch fall from my hands.

German Revolutionary Cells

It's taking off!

Reuters?

I'm the spokesman for the Mohammed Boudia Commando.

This was just a warning.

Next time, the Zionist airline El-Al will be less lucky.

OK, pal?

Yes, boss.

Let's go.

There's a line.

- What happened? - I got held up.

In minutes,

Orly was surrounded.

Reinforcements arrived quickly.

In the evening, the Home Secretary, Michel Poniatowski, showed up.

A piece of paper slipped under the restroom door

stated the commando's demands:

a plane for tomorrow at 8am...

The operation's a failure.

And we weren't even mentioned!

Don't worry.

The message was sent.

Arafat knows we won't let him compromise.

He wants to punish the commando!

Don't worry about them.

They'll get a plane. They'll leave for Baghdad.

The Iraqis won't let them land!

It'll show they're involved.

No other capital will take them.

They won't abandon us. They're committed.

All night long, negotiations continue.

In the morning, a deal is struck.

A mother and child are set free.

The others will soon be let go.

And the plane leaves with the terrorists.

What's in there?

A Tokarev.

A Vzor 50.

Are you scared?

Why are you scared?

Weapons are meant to be touched...

and treated gently.

Touch it.

A grenade.

You didn't learn this in Venezuela!

What's so funny?

You.

Why?

You and women...

You and guns.

That makes you laugh?

Weapons are an extension of my body.

Like my arms.

I learned that at training camp in the Bekaa Plain.

What else?

I also learned that

to kill, you have to act fast

and aim straight at the nose.

I'll leave it here for a week.

You don't know what's inside.

I'll keep the key.

Beirut Airport

You travel to Europe often.

I told you. I import oriental rugs.

Don't you think we know?

You were at Wadi Haddad's.

I don't work for him.

So why were you there?

- I'm a middleman. - A middleman?

For whom?

Nourredine.

Who is Nourredine?

PFLP delegate in Europe.

Nourredine who?

I don't know.

I know only his first name.

You contact him?

No, he contacts me. Only when he needs me.

Does he pay you too?

Answer the question!

No one pays me.

It's for the Palestinian cause.

Your tip was good. He works for Haddad.

We have nothing on him. Fake passports.

Not enough to keep him.

So let him go.

They'll pick him up in Paris.

- And his bag? - I'll send Xeroxes to the DST.

Anselma...

She's gone?

Yesterday, for London.

And she kicked me out.

Really?

Yes. And she left you a letter.

- Not reading it? - No. No time.

- I know what it says. - What?

Insults. She's upset I slept with you.

Petit-bourgeois!

When we all slept together, she was liberated.

I can't touch her now. She put a curtain

between our beds.

Help me with the guns. They're not safe here.

We have to move them.

Get the bags from the bathroom.

Didn't you lose your keys?

Is that what I said?

When I kicked you out.

Well, I guess I found them.

Thanks.

Why?

For helping me.

Despite everything.

I'm not doing it for you.

It's for the revolution.

What happened?

Your other mistresses dump you?

Someone important was arrested in Beirut.

None of my hideouts is safe now.

Why me?

No one knows your address.

I can't be traced here.

Can I know what's inside?

Don't ask. I'll lie.

If I keep it, you tell me.

- I can't. - Why not?

If you're questioned, you won't know.

A favour for a friend.

OK.

Go get me cigarettes.

Please.

You took a direct flight.

- One lay-over is the rule. - It would have changed nothing.

Says who?

- Someone gave my name. - Who?

I don't know.

Mossad.

What's this bullshit?

The Mossad ID'd you?

Why did they let you go?

I said I was a middleman.

- They didn't buy it. - They have nothing.

Some fake passports.

Where are the documents?

Here, with me.

We have to put them in a safe place.

They don't know you. You'll do it.

I have a safety deposit box.

I'll erase our traces

in Geneva and in London.

London, Heathrow Airport

No news.

He said he'd call you from London.

I waited two hours, then I went out.

He got nabbed at Customs. For sure.

I spoke to Haddad.

He's disbanding the European network. It's getting too risky.

Paris, Orly Airport

I just got in. I dropped my bags off.

André disappeared.

Is he in Lebanon?

He panicked.

- Maybe he's hiding. - Exactly. What crap.

He's getting worse and worse.

- Don't overdo it. - I'm not, Nydia.

He puts us at risk. Look what happened at Orly!

He's irresponsible!

- You never complained before. - I was dumb!

But I warned them about him.

This asshole's dangerous. I've said it for a while.

German Revolutionary Cells

Safe trip.

Police!

Know him?

I've never seen him.

He was at your place. He had your keys.

A German lawyer. He does favours for comrades.

He's a good guy.

No reason to make trouble for him.

Find anything on the German?

Just the fake passport.

Says he's helping anti-Franco militants.

We'll deport him after the interrogation.

- And the Lebanese? - The hearing is on Monday.

I want to finish tonight. I'm seeing my family this weekend.

Give me a sec.

You said something in Lebanon

about working for "Nourredine", a PFLP delegate here.

I said I helped him out. That's all.

For the Palestinian cause.

Have you been in touch with him since?

You had documents for him.

I was questioned in Beirut. People found out.

He's suspicious.

I'll never hear from him again.

For sure.

Is this Nourredine?

Don't say you don't know him.

It's not Nourredine.

Who is it?

A vague acquaintance.

A Peruvian playboy.

We go out drinking.

His name.

Carlos Martínez.

Where can we find this Carlos Martínez?

I just know his girlfriend.

A Venezuelan student.

Anselma Lopez.

Does he live with her?

I'm not sure.

Her address.

9 Rue Toullier. Near Boulevard St. Michel.

We'll check it out now.

We need to ID someone. Come with us.

Where are you going?

- To get my gun. - It's pure routine.

Too late to come back. We'll head home afterwards.

Bring the Lebanese along.

You see, Edgar is bourgeois. He talks about revolution

but all he cares about is studying international law.

He wants to be a corporate lawyer.

It makes me want to puke!

Why not leave him?

It's not easy. We're married.

Get divorced.

I can't. I have no money. I'd need a lawyer,

papers, and lots more.

Stay with him.

What is it?

Looks like cops to me. What do I do?

Go on, Leyma... Nice and easy.

Give me that.

Problem?

None. Is Anselma Lopez here?

She went to Venezuela two weeks ago.

Any more questions?

Can we come in?

Join us for a nightcap?

No, but I'll look at your passports.

Of course.

You're Carlos Martínez?

Peruvian?

That's right.

You know a Lebanese named Michel Moukharbal?

I don't know any Arabs.

He knows you. He gave us this address.

Strange. I hate Arabs.

But you have a Lebanese visa.

Several trips to Beirut.

I can travel, can't I?

This doesn't look familiar?

Should it?

Who is he?

I don't know.

- Not you? - Not me.

Looks like you.

For you, all Latinos look alike.

Don't be a wise ass!

Don't speak to me like that!

I'll call my embassy. They know my father!

- So this isn't you? - No, it's not!

What did he do?

We don't have to say.

Where is he?

In a car downstairs.

Go get him.

We'll see if he knows me.

Get him.

Are you sure you won't have a whisky?

Just a drop.

You don't hide your opinions.

We're internationalist militants.

Non-violent.

And you?

Your opinions?

No political opinions.

But you're a cop.

I protect honest citizens.

DST... DST...

Do you know him?

I've never seen him.

And you?

It's him.

The man in the picture.

I gave my attaché case to him.

Why?

Amparo!

Open up. It's me.

Ilich!

Get me a cigarette.

- What is it? - Check tomorrow's papers.

I'll hide here till I leave France.

Where's the suitcase?

- Under the bed. - Get it.

It's heavy.

Talk to me, please.

I need you to mail these first thing tomorrow.

- André was killed. - Who did it?

I did.

After his arrest,

he led the cops to Rue Toullier. I had to shoot my way out.

I said he was a fucking coward.

Carlos, leave Paris.

I have a place for tonight but the area's surrounded.

If they find me, they'll kill me like a dog.

How can I help?

Warn everyone.

Tell them to lie low till things die down.

And destroy any papers you have.

I can't talk. I'll call once I've left France.

Do you speak English?

Aden, South Yemen

Two months later

PFLP

What is this?

What?

We'll spend three weeks in the camp.

Training every day.

No liquor.

No cigarettes.

We'll make a new man of you.

We need well-trained fighters. We haven't much time.

Good thing we have our German comrades.

German Revolutionary Cells

Frankfurt, West Germany

- When did you get in? - I landed three hours ago.

Know what's happening in Beirut?

I read the papers.

It's never been so bad for the Palestinian resistance.

In Beirut, it's the last stand.

The Jews

and collaborators from moderate Arabs countries

are set on destroying our comrades.

Oil-rich countries could help us.

But they're scared. They won't commit.

We're planning a mission to bring them to our side.

What kind of mission?

Take OPEC ministers hostage during the Vienna conference.

That's sheer madness.

We'll be killed before we reach the ministers!

No.

It's difficult, but realistic.

We have reliable contacts on the inside.

The PFLP knows their security system.

We'll disenable it... before they can react.

The countries will then negotiate.

Our allies will be in a position of power.

Why me?

Wadie Haddad chose Carlos to run the operation.

The Revolutionary Cells are supplying two men.

Carlos demanded you be one of them.

He trusts you.

Who's the other?

It will be a woman.

Nada.

I hope you know what you're doing.

Vienna Station

17 December 1975

Arrival of the Iraqi delegation at the OPEC Conference

Number 3: Youssef.

You'll take a Tokarev and melenite.

Once we're in the conference room,

detonate it only if I give the order.

You'll have one machine gun

and two hand grenades.

Carlos scares me. Life means nothing to him.

He's a soldier. A leader.

You're under his command.

I'm a political militant. I hate armies and soldiers.

I fight for a cause.

So does he.

I wish I were so sure.

For your birthday.

Drink it tonight and think of me.

It's time. They're here.

Oil Minister of Saudi Arabia

PART ONE