(EERIE MUSIC PLAYING)
- (EERIE MUSIC CONTINUES) - (BIRDS CHIRPING)
- (MUSIC INTENSIFIES) - (BIRDS CONTINUE CHIRPING)
Well, that's, uh, finished.
The crisis awaits.
Down to work.
(STAMMERING) It's dinner first.
A working dinner, Edison.
Mmm, really?
- Uh, Tony? - Yes.
What do you say? Working dinner?
Yes. Working dinn...
Actually, I do have, uh,
just a little surprise for you first.
What is it, Hilda?
This is just a little surprise
- on the way to the gazebo. - (CHUCKLING)
It's just a short walk.
We should be clear with the communique,
but not so clear
that we put ourselves in an awkward position.
Yes of course, exactly.
This crisis is not one that can be classified so simply.
No.
And so we must keep our options open.
What we talk about?
That's the question, isn't it, Antonio?
What are we really talking about here?
- What is the true na... - (WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
You know, for me, this is quite difficult.
We have many important things to discuss,
things that only we can understand as world leaders.
And yet we are surrounded at all times
by the storm of questions and interruptions.
Some privacy would be nice.
HILDA: Yes.
Yeah...
- Cardosa! - (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Would you excuse me for a second?
Yes.
So, how have you been?
Good, Maxime. How's Eloise?
Oh, she's fine.
Yeah.
You and I haven't talked much since the Rimini Summit.
Maxime, I, um... (CLEARS THROAT) I think we should forget Rimini.
Not forget it. I don't mean that...
It was a meaningful and beautiful thing.
It is something that I needed very much at the time.
And the consolidated annual report
on Global Partnership is a document I'm very proud of.
Proud of the work we did. But that's all.
I think we have to move on.
This isn't summer camp. (LAUGHS)
Of course, we're here to work.
Yes.
So?
SYLVAIN: Well, this is a very exciting find.
It's not that exceptionally rare in the area, but...
Sylvain, you seem to know more
about this curious undertaking than our host.
Ah, well, in fact I did come early to have a look
and a short discussion
with the supervising anthropologist, Dr...
- Dr. Boofelfullmen. - Boofelfullmen.
As you may know, I am writing a book.
It's a kind of psychogeography of graveyards and burial customs.
I'm sure it will be as fascinating as all your other books.
(ALL LAUGH)
So what is this? It's quite gruesome.
Well, this is an example of what we call bog bodies...
or bog people.
There are many of them scattered around the North Saxony region.
Oh, dear. It's quite revolting.
Well, it is from the Iron Age.
Is made of iron?
Yes, it almost looks like iron, doesn't it, Antonio?
But no, it is in fact a mummified body
from the Iron Age, almost 2,000 years ago.
That's right.
The acids in the bog
have entirely dissolved all the bones in the body,
but have perfectly preserved the surface details:
all the hair, the skin...
The fingerprints.
The fingerprints of the man or woman.
Well, in this case...
It's hard to...
- It's a male. - It's a man in this case.
If you look here,
you'll see his penis has been severed and hung around his neck.
It sounds like a man to me.
SYLVAIN: Yes, with bog bodies,
evidence of torture and disfigurement is quite common.
I don't mean to make anyone nervous, but in some cases,
the bodies appear to be those of the chieftains or leaders,
sacrificially murdered
for failing to deliver the promise of a good harvest.
Okay, so we would like to make another photo
here at the dig site.
Please. And then, on to dinner.
Tatsuro?
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING)
I mean, that would be weird, discovering what this...
You know what I mean?
Somewhere in history, we'd wanna find where...
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Perhaps that's something that you can bring up after dinner.
HILDA: Please, please.
And one last photo.
Uh... Hello.
So let me begin by welcoming you all to Dankerode Castle.
And thank you all for coming,
especially under the difficult...
or somewhat difficult circumstances of the present crisis...
which, of course...
What about you, Tatsuro?
Well, since the theme of this year's summit
is regret,
do you have any regrets?
I suppose my biggest regret
is that I never learned how to ride a horse,
never had a chance, never had the opportunity.
Always want to, but, uh, getting a bit too old now.
Oh.
(CHUCKLES)
No, no, no, no.
Sylvain?
I regret being a disdainful teenager,
especially towards my father,
who I realize finally now
lived amid difficult circumstances,
teaching at the Department of Sociology at the Sorbonne.
He was probably a fine man,
and he did not deserve my scorn.
I wish he was alive so I could tell him.
Antonio?
I dress up like Mussolini to costume party.
Well, you didn't mean any harm, did you, Antonio?
I think it's a funny costume.
But, Antonio, you can't beat yourself up.
These sorts of sensitivities that people have,
these sensitivities to history.
I mean, it isn't that they're not important.
I would never say that. But...
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
(IN ENGLISH) I suppose...
Things are a little different now.
I speak of progress.
I mean, look at us...
America, Germany,
Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan,
Canada... (CHUCKLES)
the Republic of France... (LAUGHS)
The esteemed leaders of...
each of these great nations
gathered here around the table, great food,
laughing, catching up with old friends.
Yes.
- We're quite lucky to be here. - We are.
- We are blessed. - SYLVAIN: We are blessed.
Blessed.
Well, I don't mean to change the subject
or to dampen the mood, but we are also here
to produce a draft outline of a provisional statement
regarding the present crisis.
We should not forget that.
No, but I think regarding the statement and the crisis,
it is important to say what we mean.
- Yes, of course. - Yes.
It's at times like this
that people look to us to provide clarity and surety.
- Certainly. - Exactly.
What I mean to ask is this:
Have we defined the crisis?
(VOICE FADING) Have we determined concretely
or even abstractly of what it consists?
Of what it comprises. Yes, yes, exactly, exactly.
(VOICES FADE AWAY)
Maxime, what is it?
Hmm? Huh?
Is everything all right?
Oh, I was just...
Forget it.
No, no, no. Go ahead. What's troubling you?
I thought I...
Never mind.
It's not important.
We're the G7, Maxime.
Everything is important.
(ALL CHUCKLE)
Maxime?
Why don't you just take a moment and clear your head?
Yeah, okay?
Yeah, I will.
Thank you.
So sorry.
HILDA: He feels the burden of leadership.
- SYLVAIN: Don't we all? - No, it's not that.
It's something a little more personal. You know?
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
EDISON: Tatsuro? What do you think?
TATSURO: Contemplative gaze means heavy burden.
- Antonio? - Yes.
- You agree? - Yes.
So, uh...
It's his final summit, isn't it?
Yes, I think so.
What?
He's, uh... He's going to step down.
Step down? What on Earth for?
SYLVAIN: It's the scandal.
What's it called? The fixed...
The carried interest scandal.
- Good Heavens! - What it is?
CARDOSA: Tony, you don't want to know.
(CHUCKLES) Yes, well, it's...
(SUCKS TEETH) quite complicated.
The...
The Senate Ombudsman's office
had taken out an insurance policy for the purpose of chamber renovations,
but the insurance company they contracted then themselves,
procured a contract of indemnity
against the original policy.
EDISON: It's astonishing!
Yeah, but these two insurance companies had a joint tenancy agreement
with an agency controlled by a private equity firm
from whom Maxime's mother-in-law had received...
carried interest.
Outrageous! The very face of evil.
Well, I mean, you joke, Edison,
but it is this it's quite serious for him.
There's talk of proroguement.
Prorogation, exactly.
- Mmm. - Mmm.
(SCOFFS)
Well, should we make some headway with the statement?
I'm sure Maxime will join us when he feels restored.
- Excellent. Yes. - (BELL TINKLES)
Now, previously, we discussed smaller work groups.
- Hilda and I will work together? - Yeah.
Maxime can join up with us when he returns.
Tatsuro, you and Sylvain?
Yes. And that leaves you with Antonio, Edison.
- Is that... - Oh, fine.
Dante and Hemingway!
- Yes! - (ALL CHUCKLING)
(DISTANT GROWL)
Hello?
Hello.
(ALL CHATTING)
We might say first that it's hard to know where to begin.
Yes! Very good.
It's... It's important to get it right.
We don't want to start with the wrong...
No, exactly. It's just a provisional statement for now.
And even then, whatever ideas we come up with now,
are just smaller notions, which can be edited
and revised and peer reviewed
and anyway can be built up with more detail later.
Yes. Yes. So we simply write forward and...
- Yes, exactly. We just... - HILDA: Maybe we...
- (SYLVAIN LAUGHING) - Voila!
...start with some sort of personal reflection.
- Yes. - Or experience.
I mean to say, you know...
(LAUGHS LIGHTLY)
When I was younger, I was an actress.
- Really? - Yeah.
And I was in a play about the immigration experience.
I was portraying a villain, a problematical scientist.
And I had to deliver these, sort of, terrible monologues,
you know, racist diatribes,
full of expletives and offensive terminology
and, you know, eugenical explications
of racial intelligence and natural hierarchies.
And, well, I can remember some lines from the play
if, well, if that helps.
(STAMMERING) Ooh, and do you think that would be...
appropriate for the statement?
Well, I... I thought, you know,
it was from a celebrated playwright. Yeah.
And I just... you know, some of the play's themes
you know, there's a political dimension
and the sort of immigration experience.
But no, of course not. (CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY)
Don't know what I was thinking.
- No. - Forgive me.
Here comes the cavalry. (CLEARS THROAT)
Sorry to keep you waiting, ladies.
Oh, no, don't mention it.
Is everything all right? Do you want a...
I could use a drink. Yes.
(BELL TINKLES)
Excuse me for going off like that.
Oh, don't mention it.
You feel things more than others do.
CARDOSA: Yeah.
(SIGHS) Is there anyone?
(BELL TINKLES)
I don't know. It's strange, I haven't seen anyone for a while.
Yeah.
I'll call Lucien.
He must be with the delegation at the chateau.
He can send someone.
(PHONE BEEPS)
- No answer? - No.
Well, you can finish my drink if you like.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Mmm.
Very good.
What you mentioned the other time.
Um... the I.T. and integration...
Yes, yes, yes. Excellent.
How about the framework agreement?
We probably start with the date.
Yes.
I would think that would be a good idea, today's date.
Start with that. And, um...
Yes, now, Antonio, you're new to this,
but I know these kinds of statements
and people pay no attention to them at all.
What people want is concrete action.
Yes.
Not vague promises or proposals
and long, drawn-out strategies that...
Offer people the Earth and...
Bought it over people.
(EXHALES DEEPLY)
- So... - (SNORES LIGHTLY)
- Mr. Edison. - Excuse me.
Excuse me. You can't swim there.
Oh, no!
That's for the troops to sleep in.
ANTONIO: For the troops...
It's a sleep tank for the troops.
Sleep tank for the troops.
Do you have a slip for the sleep tank?
Slip for the sleep tank.
EDISON: Quarter of nine is when we start.
(MUTTERS)
- And we don't start until... - Don't start.
...everything is announced.
- Everything. - All the names...
have to be announced.
ANTONIO: Okay.
(SNORES)
Sometimes I think, Maxime, you are too hard on yourself.
You can't solve all the world's problems.
You can't even solve all of Canada's problems.
You should worry about your own well-being.
Uh, you and, uh... Eloise?
Eloise wants things
that I cannot give her.
What kind of things?
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
HILDA: It's a particular delicacy from Dankerode.
MAXIME: Pineapples?
HILDA: No, there's no pineapple.
Oh, Sylvain!
What happened?
(PANTING)
I believe we are in a crisis.
Well, we already knew that, Sylvain.
That's why we have these summits in the first place.
(CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY) There's always a crisis.
(PANTING)
Yes, of course, but... (BREATHING HEAVILY)
All right, what happened? Why are you covered in mud?
(PANTING)
It is not mud.
I went off following the wind, to try and grasp
the pages of notes that Tatsuro and I had produced.
I was frustrated because Tatsuro and I, with our brainstorming efforts,
brought forth into the world and possibly the global community,
some very good ideas for the statement.
Global warming?
More like, bilateral management.
- TATSURO: Okay. - And global jurisdiction.
SYLVAIN: What we do is, or should be,
independent of the financial world.
TATSURO: But, you know, it's hard to nowadays
ignore the domestic opposition.
- And domestic violence. - Yeah, domestic violence.
TATSURO: You know, supply chain management,
you know, in the grand scheme of geopolitical issues...
and those other things that are really important.
SYLVAIN: And with the pages blown free,
and scattered around me in all directions...
like the sound of birdsong in the forest...
I could remember only the smallest fragments
of what then seemed to me
as the embers of my inspiration went dark,
a visionary capacity that would never be restored.
My shoes were filthy.
(SYLVAIN SPEAKING FRENCH)
(IN ENGLISH) I was despondent.
(SYLVAIN SPEAKING FRENCH)
(BELL TINKLING)
(SYLVAIN SPEAKING FRENCH)
(BELL TINKLING)
(SYLVAIN COUGHS)
(SYLVAIN SCREAMS)
(SCREAMING)
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(SYLVAIN SPEAKING FRENCH)
(IN ENGLISH) Hello?
Hello?
Anyone?
Hello?
Is that you?
Hello?
Hmm.
MAXIME: Is this some kind of joke?
SYLVAIN: A joke?
No, Maxime.
- I would joke at such a time? - (PHONE BEEPS)
I didn't bring my phone.
It's no matter, Antonio,
it wouldn't have helped anyway.
(SIGHS)
ANTONIO: I can bring it next time.
- Hello! - Maxime...
Anyone?
So, we have been abandoned here at the gazebo?
HILDA: Uh, yes, it seems...
SYLVAIN: Does this happen often out here, Hilda?
Is it a local custom?
Happen often? No, I...
They just built this gazebo. We are the first to use it.
At the chateau, you didn't think to try the phone?
It was dark.
The place was totally abandoned and...
I must say. I was a little shaken by the...
Yeah, frightening.
And it was one of the people
from the ground that we saw earlier?
Yes.
(LAUGHS) And it attacked you?
Well, no, not attacked, but...
Or I thought so at first.
I don't really know.
It ended up on me and we rolled around together.
I swear I could feel it struggling with me.
Well, shouldn't we all just go back to the house together?
- No one there. - We walk out on the road.
No, no. It is 20 kilometers. It would take hours.
I think there has simply been some kind of a...
Um...
Some kind of...
Some kind of what?
And we're all together now,
and we have light and we have shelter,
and they obviously know we're here.
So shouldn't we just wait here?
Wait for who?
For the authorities.
(CHUCKLES)
(EDISON SNORING)
- This is what you wrote? - Yes.
Number one: break it down into steps.
Number two: change your environment.
Number three: create a detailed timeline with specific deadlines.
Number four: eliminate your procrastination pit stops.
(LAUGHS)
Well...
I'm certain there was more, but...
Tatsuro, do you remember more?
No, no. I don't remember.
- Wasn't there more? - I don't remember!
Remember only the phrase, "procrastination pit stop."
Enough.
(CARDOSA GASPS)
I'm going to find some help.
Maxime, wait. We have to stay together.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Then come with me, Cardosa.
I meant we must all stay together, as a group.
It's not safe. We don't know what's going on.
MAXIME: You always do that.
You always find a reason not to be alone with me.
- Maxime, no, I don't. - You do!
Everything you say to me is an attempt to push me away
or to escape from me.
In every movement of your body,
there's a haste to be finished with me.
(MAXIME GRUNTS)
HILDA: Maxime!
Uh, the house is the other way.
Uh... Maxime!
Hilda, don't! Just leave him!
- (SCOFFS) - HILDA: Maxine!
This happens every time he drinks.
He gets like this.
He gets emotional and he runs off.
(MAXIME PANTING)
(EERIE MUSIC)
(RUSTLING)
Who's there?
Oh, it's you.
Yeah.
Yeah, you're disappointed.
(ANIMALS CALLING)
It's better to burn out, than to fade away.
Oh, Maxime. (GASPS SOFTLY)
Have you done this before?
Done what?
Written this, this kind of note,
the suicide note.
Yeah. I've many such notes.
I write them...
Every time I approach the edge.
I'm sure it looks silly to you.
The quote and everything.
I think it's... It's quite a nice quote.
It's cool.
Very rock and roll.
You seem tense.
Do you think...
Do you think a massage might help?
I don't know.
You are tense.
Is that part true?
What part?
That you view death with inexpressible serenity?
I don't know. Probably not.
No. Does anyone?
I... I think that's good.
The line about women and minorities?
Yeah.
Too often they get forgotten.
Should we say a little something about...
The private sector?
Nothing major, just...
Some words of encouragement.
Why did you follow me?
What do you want?
And here we are. Cut off. Alone.
Well, I have to say, I didn't expect to wake up to this kind of thing.
Well, I shall do the leaderly thing and get us out of this muddle,
as Wolcott men have always done.
Going right back to the first of us who helped establish the Virginia colony.
By all means, Edison, my good friend, lead us.
What do you have in mind?
What I have in mind, dear boy,
is that we go back to le chateau together,
and there, we find a comfortable spot,
a spot conducive to the kind of productive diplomatic colloquy
that befits our station as leaders, until such time as help arrives. Hmm?
- Uh. - What?
- The statement. - The what?
- The provisional statement. - What about it?
- We haven't finished it yet. - Is there any point?
We always trot out the same nonsense anyway.
- Edison! - Well, we do.
SYLVAIN: The statement is important.
It shows the world that we are working together.
It quiets our domestic critics.
But this is an emergency.
We have to wait for Maxime and Hilda anyway.
We could work on it for a few minutes here while we wait.
Then, as you say,
perhaps we can finish it back at the house.
All right. Fine, the statement.
We must have something.
Yes, of course. We've all been working very hard on it.
Okay. So, I have here...
And this is something I've been working on with Maxime and Hilda.
Well, it's a kind of framework for conflict resolution
in a troubled marriage.
- What? - This is for the provisional statement?
Yeah. I mean, ostensibly, we have here a number of ideas
for restoring non-sexual physical affection
in this case, between a husband and a wife
who are having trouble with sexual compatibility.
This is Maxime's stuff again.
He and Eloise are having problems.
Yes, of course, all marriages have problems.
But the provisional statement is hardly an appropriate forum
for devising their solution.
- (DISTANT HOWLING) - What is that?
(WINGS FLAPPING)
- MAXIME: Where is everybody? - (GASPS)
What the hell.
HILDA: Looks like there was a struggle.
(LEAVES RUSTLING)
Hey, who's out there?
Don't shoot! I am Antonio.
Prime Minister Lamorte, what are you doing down there?
Shh. Follow me.
And I take you to the others.
(ALL ARGUING)
- Look... Look... - Oh!
(PANTING)
(GASPING) There you are.
You're all right?
Hilda? Maxime?
Yeah. We're fine. What happened?
We sent Tony back to get you.
He's good at keeping out of sight.
ANTONIO: Is true.
CARDOSA: We had to flee the gazebo.
We were attacked by dark, shadowy figures.
Protesters!
That's what I thought too at first.
But they didn't have signs.
They didn't chant any slogans.
And if they objected to any specifics in our program,
they didn't say so.
I believe they were protesters, if a little unconventional.
- They were not protesters. - What then?
The press? Spies? Goblins?
Shh! This is serious, Maxime!
What were they then? Terrorists?
Something less than terrorists and something more.
Yeah.
But you say that they attacked you?
Well, attacked... They loomed, threateningly.
Their demeanor was quite aggressive, quite hostile.
- Very grumpy. - They were grumpy?
No, they were violent, more than grumpy.
Very grumpy. Scary.
But hey were people, ja?
Human beings?
They looked like the bodies.
The ones dug up from the ground.
What are we doing here? Why don't we get out of here?
Because we were waiting for you!
- Sylvain! - Shh!
You're the ones who ran off crying like teenagers!
We weren't crying.
We wanted to talk.
Oh, I'm sorry. I know you had your reasons.
Anyway, we were about to head back to the castle, but...
That's where they came from. The protesters.
- They were not protesters! - TATSURO: So we are cut off.
Trapped.
(HILDA INHALES SHARPLY)
(HILDA SPEAKING GERMAN)
- What? - What?
- (HILDA SPEAKING GERMAN) - Chocolate cake?
No, no, no, it's not a cake.
It's a kind of a ferry.
Well a raft, actually.
But it goes through the marsh. Right to the main highway.
Yeah. I've ridden it myself.
- A raft? - How far is it?
From here? Um, two, maybe three kilometers...
- Four kilometers. - ...through the woods.
There's a... There's a path.
Ah, here.
I have a brainstorming exercise
that might help us write the statement.
It's something I picked up at a workshop I attended
after losing the general election in 2018.
Um...
It's just a word association game,
but with a more directed focus.
Now, since we want to produce material relevant to the provisional statement,
I'll suggest some G7-themed prompts
for our associative wordplay.
So I have here a list of all the G7 summit locations
going back to Rambouillet in 1975.
Ah, Rambouillet.
Uh, it was, of course, the G6 back then,
before Canada.
Ah, sorry, Maxime.
You know, the declaration of Rambouillet remains for me
the most incisive and inspired
in the history of G7 statements.
In these three days...
TOGETHER: ...we held a searching and productive exchange of views
on the world economic situation,
on the economic problems common to our countries,
on the human, social, and political implications,
and on plans for resolving them.
Ah, Rambouillet...
Yeah, it's a remarkably prescient statement.
Still relevant today.
CARDOSA: Oh, here we go, Rambouillet...
(CLEARS THROAT)
CARDOSA: Venice, Montebello.
Anyone can jump in any time, anything that comes to mind.
Versailles, Williamsburg, London.
Bonn, Tokyo, Venice, Toronto, Paris.
Houston. London.
Another one.
Maxime.
It's safe.
Dead for what, a thousand years?
Two thousand.
Probably more afraid of us than we are of him.
Imagine what he went through.
The rope around his neck...
And look at the cuts on his...
(ALL GROAN)
(ALL PANTING)
Do you suppose it's normal for it to dribble like that?
EDISON: I'm afraid so.
Could what we just saw have been be something like groundwater?
draining from the specimen?
Could be. Could be.
MAXIME: Imagine holding it in for that long.
(LAUGHS) I can't even make it through a film.
In fact, when Julie and I went...
- (SYLVAIN SCREAMS) - Oh!
- (SYLVAIN SCREAMS) - Sylvain? What is it?
(YELPS IN PAIN)
CARDOSA: Sylvain, what is it?
SYLVAIN: I don't know.
I confess I had been feeling
somewhat afflicted after my encounter...
(SCREAMS AND GROANS)
I'm sorry. It's my leg.
- (GROANS) - HILDA: Does it hurt?
Oh, it burns! It burns!
My bone.
My leg bone, it feels wrong!
Wrong how?
- Look, you see? - HILDA: See? What?
The bone is obviously dissolving.
My leg is flaccid.
Rubbery.
And you can't walk?
Absolutely not! It's out of the question!
- (CONTINUES GROANING) - MAXIME: Okay.
We don't know what's out there.
At ease.
(SYLVAIN GROANS)
(SYLVAIN BREATHING HEAVILY)
(IN FRENCH) Thank you, my old friend.
(IN FRENCH) Of course, Sylvain.
You are a complex man.
The way you lurch from positions of strength and control
to ones of weakness and abandon.
Also...
You are physically strong.
It is a good, comfortable feeling,
to be held in this way by a sturdy man.
One's feelings of uncertainty and anxiety
in the face of an unknowable fate,
these feelings are transformed into an ecstatic surrender
a profound and thrilling abdication of responsibility.
Simply put: this abdication
is the secret wish
of all those burdened with leadership.
ANTONIO: (IN ENGLISH) Mr. Wolcott?
Are you hungry?
I have some meat.
Oh, how very gracious of you, Antonio.
Is this traditional Genovese salami?
I don't know.
I get it off the buffet table at the hotel.
Oh, you crafty thing!
You're a worthy heir to Garibaldi.
Cardosa, this is for you.
Um...
- Meat! - Thank you.
Nothing. Tatsuro? For you.
Look, look, look.
I find a wheelbarrow!
Oh!
Oh.
- Cardosa? - Yes, Sylvain?
May I use your laptop?
Well, it's in my bag. Do... Do you need it?
Yes. I'm having some thoughts that might be helpful
for the provisional statement.
Thoughts about my present condition.
Uh, sure.
I'm... sorry.
I'm going to need to rest.
I'm not as young as the rest of you.
Of course, Edison.
We should have thought.
Maybe we can find another wheelbarrow.
(CHUCKLES) Antonio, listen,
it's one thing to wheel
the president of the Fifth Republic around
in such an undignified manner,
but I am the leader of the world's oldest democracy. Mmm?
Sorry, Sylvain. I'm sure you understand.
I say I'm sorry.
(SYLVAIN HUMMING QUIETLY)
What the...
I don't think he can hear you, Edison.
That's how focused he is right now.
He said he had some ideas about the statement
and off he went.
(SYLVAIN HUMMING)
- SYLVAIN: Mr. Wolcott? - Mmm?
Why you have this accent?
EDISON: Well... MAXIME: Shh!
(BUILDING EERIE MUSIC)
(DISTANT MOANS)
(DISTANT GRUNTING)
(DISTANT SHOUT)
(SHOUTING)
(BARKING)
(GROWLING)
(BUILDING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC)
(MUSIC FADES)
Their ancient seed has extinguished the flames.
Foul plume.
(HILDA COUGHS)
Did we just see that?
I don't know. I don't know.
What is all this? What the hell is going on?
A kind of ceremony, I would say.
Some kind of gathering of like-minded individuals.
Oh!
It might be worth describing what we saw and putting in the statement.
I strongly disagree.
That is exactly the sort of thing not to
put in the statement, it would cause a panic.
I do not understand what we just saw.
Exactly, Tatsuro,
that's the only sensible thing to say about it.
I saw nothing that can't be explained by the natural sciences.
Yeah.
A trick of the moonlight playing on a grove
of Spanish moss swaying in the wind.
Or one of those ethnic dances they have at all of these summits.
Lederhosen and castanets,
and those fans they have in Japan.
Tatsuro, what are they called?
- Fans, yes. - Exactly, there you are.
I admire your hard-headed American pragmatism, Edison,
but it's hard to share from my position
here in the wheelbarrow.
What have you got there?
"The provisions of Treaty of Maastricht."
- Oh, Maastricht? - Yeah.
- What does it say? - Here.
Celestine.
Celestine!
Celestine? Who is Celestine?
Celestine Sproul.
She's the President of the European Commission, Antonio.
This must be her briefcase.
Okay. It is G7?
Uh, ostensibly, yes. It depends who you ask.
The President of the European Commission
has been attending the G7 summits since 1981.
Roy Jenkins at...
Montebello. A beautiful mountain.
- Yeah. - And Maxime like her?
Does he like Celestine? Uh, you could say that.
He used to like her, but he's over her now.
(CARDOSA LAUGHS, THEN CLEARS HER THROAT)
In my opinion, it was foolish to have EU representation
before the establishment of the single market in 1993.
At Tokyo 3?
It's an interesting perspective, Tatsuro.
But of course, we both know the real reason
you're preoccupied with that particular year.
Nikkei Collapse?
The lost decade!
He's got the fire.
CARDOSA: Maxime, what are you doing?
These are Celestine's private papers.
Cardosa, let him.
We're all cold and tired.
Let us warm our bodies in the glow of Maxime's passion.
MAXIME: She's a private person.
She wouldn't want them to fall into the wrong hands.
This is cathartic for you.
You're still angry with her.
And you're taking it out on her by destroying her work.
You were always jealous of her work.
You pretend to be a feminist, but you don't like strong women.
I love strong women!
No, no, no, no, no.
I love them too much!
Yes, me too, old boy.
- Maxime! - EDISON: Me too.
Uh, we... must not split up.
Maxime!
Do you think it might be illuminating to view this situation allegorically?
What?
Given that it is quite a simple matter to consider each of us as personifications
of our respective nations?
How would it be illuminating?
It's important to understand the link
between the self and the symbol, don't you think?
No.
(HILDA PANTING)
(HILDA SIGHS)
He's too fast for me.
Canada too fast for Germany.
- What does it mean? - Doesn't mean anything.
- Hilda... - Hmm?
You know, you really needn't run after him every time he does this.
Yeah, I suppose you're right.
I do tend to get a little caught up in the dramatics.
Germany caught up in the dramatics.
- (CARDOSA SIGHS) - We've seen this before.
I only hope he can find us when he runs out of steam.
I don't know about you, but don't feel safe waiting here.
Celestine!
(MAXIME GASPS)
This doesn't make any sense.
There should be helicopters
and search teams.
And if they should find us...
they would find seven or six, I should say...
huddled, frightened men and women
who have failed...
not only in the writing of the provisional statement,
which it was their sole duty to complete,
but in most of the fundamental categories of humanity and decency.
What makes you say that, Sylvain?
We haven't eaten each other.
Or even struck each other.
Even our verbal disagreements have been courteous.
It's not as if a World War has broken out.
Antonio has been sharing his meats.
You want?
- (LAUGHTER) - CARDOSA: Thank you, Antonio, yes.
I guess I get carried away with my rhetoric.
(CHUCKLES) It's a blessing and a curse.
The burden of all great leaders. (LAUGHS)
- What day is it? - Saturday.
(LAUGHS)
No. No, no, the date.
It's the 21st.
CARDOSA: What is it? What is it?
(HILDA SIGHS)
September 21st.
- (EXHALES) - It's Maxime's birthday.
(LAUGHS)
No wonder he's been so sensitive.
Maxime's birthday's very important to him, Antonio.
And with this whole Celestine business, I hadn't even made the connection.
What do you mean?
Well, I knew Celestine had been appointed and that she would be coming, but...
I didn't know Maxime would find it so difficult.
Well, their relationship has always been one of tumult.
- Mmm. - They met during the highly contentious
WTO ministerial conference.
2006.
I didn't know Maxime ever worked in the WTO.
He didn't. He was a protester,
the leader of a black block cell.
Ja. He was, um, pepper-sprayed.
Ja. And Celestine was with the Dutch trade delegation,
and they met during a violent encounter and he became infatuated with her
after she tended to his rubber bullet wounds.
Back then, you could really get into a punch-up with protesters.
- (EXHALES) - (CHUCKLES)
Brave men and women of high principle,
willing to sacrifice everything for a cause.
They threw rocks, dressed all in black.
It was striking to see.
Hooded hordes swarming across endless plains.
I injured quite a few of them myself and was in turn injured by them.
I should like to have been assassinated.
Too late for that now I suppose.
Wouldn't be sporting.
Assassinated?
Really, Edison?
Yeah.
Instead of this ignominious sloughing away.
I think of it from time to time.
Arranging things, I mean.
A conspiracy of sly minds in back rooms.
Shots ring out.
Bits of my brain on the tarmac.
And they find some piteous wretch to pin it all on,
some nutcase with an absurd grievance.
Too many bridges,
not enough protection for songbirds.
Grandson afraid of picture books.
But here I am.
Plowing on.
You're still the American president, Edison.
Yeah, I suppose so.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
(CELESTINE PANTING)
- Celestine! - (YELPS)
Celestine, it's me, Maxime.
Are you all right?
What happened to you?
Why are you here?
And what is this large brain you have with you?
Where's the rest of your delegation?
(CELESTINE MUTTERING)
CELESTINE: Maxime?
(IN OTHER LANGUAGE) Maxine of the silver tresses.
Yes, it's me, Maxime.
Celestine. It's me, Maxime.
A black storm comes.
What happened to you?
(MUTTERS)
I am fearful in mind and spirit.
What? I can't understand you, Celestine.
I speak in a new tongue.
A new dawn is coming.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
Okay, come.
We must catch up with the others.
Okay? Come.
Come.
In seven days and seven nights, there will be a surprise attack
by Belgian federal authorities.
Come, okay?
My pendant!
By which I am known.
The pendant bears my likeness!
Yeah, that's you.
We mustn't leave her.
We must go, now.
See her glistening lobes!
See her nurturing folds!
Come, Celestine.
(MAXIME) Hello?
HILDA: Maxime?
I found her huddled up against a giant brain.
What?
Celestine?
Are you all right? What happened to you?
Um...
There is a diverse consortium of new interests
from the world of tech and finance.
I am the bearer of their message.
She doesn't understand. There's something wrong with her.
She... She can only speak gibberish.
I speak in a new tongue.
Gibberish to our ears, but perhaps there is sense within.
An ancient Iron Age language, I suspect.
Perhaps Dacian.
- Galindian. - Old Frankish?
SYLVAIN: Or Burgundian. Or Skaldian.
Some dead tongue only used
by the shamans in their pagan fertility rituals.
Sudovian.
Livonian.
Good! Yes.
Ruthenian?
Norn? Frisian? Suebi?
Wanderooge.
Rotwelsch!
(GASPS) Interesting. The thieves tongue!
Perhaps. Perhaps.
(CELESTINE SPEAKING OTHER LANGUAGE)
Swedish. She's just speaking Swedish.
Swedish?
You think they're making a move?
(IN SWEDISH) What would the Norwegians say? (COUGHS)
There is bad blood between the kings.
- CARDOSA: What is she saying? - Something about a king.
I don't think she's making any sense.
Where did you learn to speak Swedish, Celestine?
There was a course at the Institute for Global Affairs.
It was a three day course.
Only the Night Queen can bring peace.
The Night Queen?
Who is the Night Queen? Are you the Night Queen?
CELESTINE: Shh!
Are you the Night Queen, Celestine?
(CELESTINE SPEAKING SWEDISH)
Astrid.
Astrid is the Night Queen.
She can mimic the voices of all men.
She can sing as they would sing.
I think we should just keep moving.
(IN ENGLISH) Come! Um, come, come!
Wait!
(IN SWEDISH) The giant brain is a game-changer!
(IN FRENCH) Excuse me!
Sorry.
(SYLVAIN SIGHS)
What is this about a brain?
I saw it. Not far from here.
A large brain.
I took a picture.
How large?
Almost the size of a car. A small car.
Huh.
A whale's brain, perhaps.
Fossilized whale's brain.
Maybe a cargo plane was bringing it
to the museum in Wiesbaden and had some engine trouble?
- No, there was no wreckage. - No?
It looks more like a human brain.
A human brain?
Yes, it does, doesn't it?
Yeah.
Very interesting.
More like a... A woman's brain, I would say.
Why?
Well, from the size, it's...
it's slightly smaller than a giant man's brain would be.
It's quite large.
Well, to be sure, I'm sure it is.
But of course, the more likely explanation
is that this is some kind of stunt, a protest stunt
meant to mock, well, to mock us,
the so-called brain trust of the West.
Of the world, really!
(LAUGHS)
- Made of latex? - I don't know.
(IN SWEDISH) A new fellowship will rise.
It will lead us for all days to come.
- Mmm-hmm. Yes. - What is she saying?
She's very confused.
I don't think she remembers much.
She talks about a coming war.
(CELESTINE SCOFFS)
Are you not listening?
The giant brain is a game-changer!
Antonio, I hate to be a pessimist.
I hate to dump bad news on you,
but I have a feeling that something apocalyptic has occurred,
that there is nobody out there to rescue us,
no homes to return to.
It is the cold, dark ending our species rightly deserves.
Come at last.
Just as we were getting to know each other!
ANTONIO: Yeah.
(EDISON GRUNTS)
You all right, Edison?
(EDISON GRUNTS)
Yes, I'm fine.
Right as rain.
But I think I'd like to stay here.
So you lot carry on without me.
I'll be quite content.
Come on, Edison, don't be stupid.
The ferry is not far.
I've had a good long run. I've seen and done my share.
Now all I want is to sit here a while,
fade into a beautiful sleep and never wake up.
Become one with the loamy ground.
My body made into something useful for a change.
Now you come, Mr. Wolcott.
No, Antonio. Thank you. I shall not come.
Please.
Please, Mr. Wolcott, come with us.
No, Antonio, I won't.
Please, Mr. Wolcott.
Antonio, please, just leave me.
I'll be fine.
Do it for me.
Antonio, look, please leave me.
You have to come with us.
- Goodbye! - CARDOSA: It's okay.
It's okay, Antonio.
Antonio.
We'll send someone for him right as soon as we can get help.
My friend.
(HILDA WHISPERING)
(WHISPERING IN FRENCH) Economy... finance...
Finance.
(SYLVAIN LAUGHING)
(IN FRENCH) Economy! Ecology!
(IN SWEDISH) I am having an energy crisis.
Look!
Oh!
We're here.
MAXIME: Where's the ferry?
(HILDA SIGHS) It must be on the other side.
And how do we get it back?
Someone has to bring it back from the other side.
But we're all here on this side.
SYLVAIN: One should be reminded of the parable
of the scorpion and the frog.
Shh, Sylvain.
The scorpion, he is...
Sylvain, save your strength.
...among other things, a wayfarer.
Antonio. Can you take him to a safe place?
Thank you.
(SYLVAIN CONTINUES MUMBLING)
SYLVAIN: Deadly aggression...
Sorry. Sorry.
I disguise you. To keep safe.
(SYLVAIN GROANS)
Wait.
Uh, who is the best swimmer?
I'll go.
Maxime, are you sure?
Should someone go with you?
Uh, I only can go backwards.
I can swim.
HILDA: Yeah, well, you might not have to do too much swimming.
It's not deep.
You just have to grab onto the guide rope,
you have to hold on to it anyway, follow it, because we don't
want you getting lost in the fog.
Right.
Now be careful of your footing
because the bottom is going to be extremely mucky.
It's, um...
Yeah.
MAXIME: It's not deep.
(TATSURO GASPS) Chilly!
Grab behind me, Tatsuro.
(MAXIME GRUNTING)
How far, Hilda?
Uh, about... 200 meters.
Give us an hour.
If we're not back by then, you must find another way!
(ORCHESTRAL MUSIC)
(ROPE CREAKING)
Look!
MAXIME: Anyone order a ferry?
Hah! You are like our "ferry" godmother!
You okay? Did you see anything on the other side?
No, the fog is thick there too. But there's a road.
I left Tatsuro there, he's going to try to find some help.
Meet us at the dock.
How's Sylvain?
Uh, not good. He's...
He's been quiet, but he's still breathing.
So obviously you can see the ferry can't take us all at once.
We should be able to make it in two trips.
Someone should take Sylvain first.
(ANTONIO SIGHS)
(PHONE DINGS)
Who is it?
What does it say?
Maxime, what is it?
- It says, "help." - What?
I can't recognize the number.
Respond, respond! I'll find mine.
I still have no phone.
"Who are you? Where are you?"
(PHONE DINGS)
"My name is Astrid. I'm only seven.
"I was left at the chateau all by myself."
- We can't leave her. - No.
- We must save her. - Wait, wait, wait.
This could be...
"Where are your mom and dad... Astrid?"
Yes. Yes! It makes sense.
Listen.
Do you remember the item 11 on the summit agenda memo?
Um, 11... Yes.
That was the creation of the road map for the coordinated something, the...
- The sex crimes thing? - Yes.
The preliminary road map for a coordinated international response
to major cybersex crimes.
Now as part of that conference, which, of course,
we were too busy to attend,
a group of engineers from LŸbingen
unveiled an artificial intelligence chatbot
designed to ensnare pedophiles via automated text message.
(SYLVAIN MOANS)
- You mean? - Yes!
That could be the chat bot messaging you.
You know, it seems quite similar.
- But I'm not a... - Pedophile? No.
But the bot doesn't know that.
- (SYLVAIN MOANING) - It uses AI to select likely targets.
And of course, people like us,
people in positions of great power like us,
you know, world leaders and so, we, you know...
statistics show that we are more likely to be pedophiles.
So we should ignore it?
What if it's a real child who needs our help?
No, in fact, we should not ignore it.
If you can convince the bot that you are in fact a sexual pervert,
it will automatically alert authorities and they will come investigate.
- We could be rescued. - What if it is a real child?
This is our dilemma.
So we must flirt with the child enough to convince the bot
that we are sexual predators, pedophiles, specifically,
and thus alert the authorities to our whereabouts,
but not enough that in case it is a real child,
we irreparably traumatize it?
Yes, exactly.
We must be very, very careful.
(PHONE DINGS)
"My mum and dad left. I'm all by myself."
"Stay where you are. I will come help you."
Perhaps something... Something a little flirtier?
For the bot.
"You seem like a nice little girl."
Okay, Antonio.
You should take Sylvain across now,
Cardosa and Hilda stay here with Celestine,
I'll head back to the chateau for the girl as fast as I can.
No, no, I know the chateau well, I know the security protocols.
I should come with you.
You know, it's not far, uh, from here.
You know. Now we know the way.
A straight line, and we'll be there in 10 minutes.
Well, I would like to come too.
Perhaps we can finish the statement on the way.
- (HILDA STRAINING) - (SYLVAIN MOANING)
(PHONE DINGS)
"You seem like a nice man. Looking forward to seeing you."
"Looking forward."
Would a small child say that?
HILDA: I think it's the bot.
Come now, Celestine.
(PHONE DINGS)
(MESSAGE SENDS)
(IN SWEDISH) I flee my captors.
I steal away over the dark earth.
I was worried this would happen. Celestine!
What does this mean to her? What has she been telling you?
Uh, she says that this brain
is the seat of power of a new union,
which is poised to take its place on the world stage.
Global governance has a new name!
The concords of the past shall hold no sway!
Lisbon is invalid! Amsterdam is invalid!
HILDA: Celestine says she has figures that invalidate
the Amsterdam Treaty and the Treaty of Lisbon.
All the old political orders will fall,
she says, in a great inferno.
(PHONE DINGS)
Well, except, of course, the Treaty of Maastricht,
which really cannot be overturned so simply.
We bask in the radiance of your unfading complexion.
"Please hurry."
We are washed away.
Into the Earth, into the Hall of Gods.
"I will be there soon."
Tell her that she must speak of you to no one.
- It must be your little secret. - Yeah.
- No! - Oh!
Celestine!
MAXIME: No! Celestine!
(CHORAL MUSIC)
Please! Please! Please!
DRIVER: Hello? (SPEAKING OTHER LANGUAGE)
Speak English?
(IN ENGLISH) Yes, I do speak.
Oh! Phone, phone.
DRIVER: Yes, I have.
DRIVER: No, no, no, no, no, no.
Perhaps say the number
that you want to dial and I can dial it for you.
Central authorities. Japanese Embassy!
DRIVER: No, no, no, no, no.
Police, police, police.
Ambulance too. We have a sick man.
French President!
Violent protestors!
Floppy bodies!
Great big brain the size of a hatchback!
Please. Please, slow down.
- Okay? - Okay. Okay.
Sylvain?
You want?
No?
Antonio!
Antonio.
Edison.
Cardosa, did you read what Sylvain was writing?
Haven't really had a chance to look at it yet.
Let's have... a look.
What is it?
It appears to be...
a proposal for a monument of some sort,
a tentative proposal
for the establishment of what will be when it is completed
Western Europe's largest sundial.
A sundial. That's it?
Yeah.
There's a lot of speculation about possible locations,
groundskeeping concerns, materials,
a list of artists that might be commissioned,
and a long explanation of how sundials work.
(PHONE DINGS)
"Where are you?"
"We are coming."
(DISTANT ANIMAL SOUND)
(HILDA SCREAMS)
(GROANING)
What do we do?
Where are we going?
Maxime, what are you doing?
Excuse me.
I understand you're... upset.
Our presence here has disturbed you somehow.
Maybe you think of this as your land.
It's your ancestral home, after all.
The... The traditional home of your peoples.
And that's quite understandable.
And we have disturbed your rest
and somehow upset the balance of your sacred energies...
for which affront there can be no excuse.
So that's why we come to you now
and offer our profound apologies
for the hurt and offense we have...
(CREATURE GROANS)
Run!
(CREATURES GROANING)
"I am outside.
"Where are you?"
Crap!
Come, come, come!
Try zero-zero-zero-zero.
- Zero-zero-zero-zero! - (KEYPAD BEEPING)
- (BUZZES) - Ooh!
Yes! Yes!
This way.
Astrid!
(MAN HUMMING)
Hello?
- (MAN HUMMING) - Glob?
Here you are! Finally!
I'm sorry about the mess.
I'm having computer problems.
Sorry.
Where's Astrid?
- JONAS: Astrid? - Yeah.
Astrid is the name of the AI system
powering the union's new predator entrapment chatbot.
I asked Astrid to bring you here.
I begged her in fact.
It was the only way to contact you.
Communication has become complicated.
What's going on? Where's everybody?
Astrid sent them away.
Why? How?
I don't know. She likes to work alone.
Yet she won't let me leave.
It's not healthy.
She must find me useful.
For what reason? I don't know.
Look at me! (CHUCKLES)
- Why did she bring us here? - I don't know.
Did you do sex crime?
- What? No. - I think this is a trap.
- I think we should just leave. - No, no, it's not trap.
That's her reason.
I have my own reason to bring you here.
Then what is it?
What do you want?
I have something to give you.
"Provisional statement on the present crisis."
You wrote this, Glob?
Uh, no, not really.
- Computer did most. - (READING INDISTINCTLY)
Astrid. She has that power now.
(CARDOSA READING INDISTINCTLY)
HILDA: It says things about the Olympics.
It says they should be held every three years
- instead of four. - (HORN BEEPS)
JONAS: Three? Wow, good idea.
MAXIME: They're here.
TATSURO: Maxime!
So, is there any help coming?
Help? No help.
What do you mean?
Everything on fire. Many dead.
(CARDOSA BREATHING HEAVILY)
(EDISON SNORING)
So no one is coming?
We didn't see anyone.
No help.
(JONAS HUMMING, SCATTING)
(LOUD BANG)
(HILDA SIGHS)
(COUGHS)
ANTONIO: Mr. President?
Oh. Yes, that's me.
Yes, I'm the president.
ANTONIO: Hey, you feel better?
EDISON: Yes. Thank you, Tony.
Not dead yet.
(GROANS)
You know, I feel as if I could be president
for another hundred years. (CHUCKLES)
Bloody term limits.
There are snacks in these
and some other goodies.
Thank you, Hilda.
- Thank you. - We get something for our pains.
(SIGHS)
In case we need it.
What is?
Is vitamins?
No, Tony, um, not vitamins.
Potassium cyanide.
They hand them out at all the summits.
When this is over, I retire early.
Spend some time in the mountains.
(CARDOSA SIGHS)
I'll probably join the private sector.
- Hilda? - Hmm?
What will you do?
Your notes, Antonio.
Your statement notes, please.
Cardosa.
(BUILDING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC)
(BIRDS CHIRP)
(MAXIME CLEARS THROAT)
We, the leaders of the Group of Seven,
met in Dankerode, Germany,
from the 21st to the 22nd of September...
at a critical juncture for the global community
to make progress towards an equitable world.
If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference,
let it be that we, as open democracies,
adhering to the rule of law,
are driven by shared values and bound by our commitment
to the rules-based multilateral order
and universal human rights,
and to eliminating,
wherever possible,
the procrastination pit stops
that have interrupted our work over the years
and also to cultivating opportunities
for non-sexual physical affection
and the marriages across the respective nations
and ensuring that everyone,
regardless of whether you're a woman or a minority or something else,
that everyone has access to slips for the sleep tank.
Not to mention the importance of finding an appropriate venue
for what will be, when it's completed,
Western Europe's largest sundial.
(MUSIC SWELLS)
I know you're afraid.
I'm afraid too.
The sky is on fire.
The water of the ocean is thick and black.
And death... is all around us.
Everyone is dying.
Everyone dies.
It cannot be stopped.
But I assure you...
hand to heart...
that if we nurture the sense of common purpose and vision,
that has characterized the discussions we've had over these two days,
we have an opportunity like none we've ever had before,
to foster competition in the digital marketplace
and meet the death of our world
and species, head on.
Our vision clear and true,
our desire steadfast, our stride unwavering,
our courage unbounded and our patriotic hearts aflame
with the strength of kings!
And queens!
And queens.
And with a passion unflinching and unyielding,
we will carry ourselves fearlessly
into the dreadful inferno that awaits us all.
It's better to burn out than to fade away!
(GURGLING)
(MOANS)
(MUSIC PLAYS)