FIVE SCREENPLAYS

Fifty masterpieces of French art are hijacked from a truck on its way from Paris’s Louvre Museum to Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport by a group of Breton "separatists". They take their precious cargo to Mont Saint Michel where they evacuate the residents - except for the local mayor, a municipal counsellor, and - as luck would have it - the U.S. ambassador on a private visit to the Abbey with the president of a major American foundation. These are taken hostage. The separatists then barricade themselves inside their armed fortress and announce their demands: a basic right to self-determination for the Breton people as guaranteed by the United Nations Charter. These actions send shock waves throughout the Celtic World. Recognizing the enormous dangers to France’s territorial integrity not to mention its relations with the United States, the French government plays for time. Mont Saint Michel is sealed off from the outside world. However, given its importance as a World Heritage Site, the idea of launching a military assault against the separatists is out of the question. Faced with French governmental inertia, the separatists carry out their threat to destroy the hijacked masterpieces. One by one, they are burned in full view of the world’s TV cameras. Explosive charges are wired into place throughout the Abbey itself. The plight of the hostages becomes precarious as tensions mount on all sides. The French government reluctantly accepts the Pentagon's offer of help. For a brief moment, the separatists are afforded a respite, thanks to a group of supporters from Ireland and Scotland who succeed in breaking through the blockade. They dream of creating an Inter-Celtic Confederation, yet the vital support of the Breton people at large is not forthcoming. As conditions continue to deteriorate inside Mont Saint Michel, longstanding tensions resurface within the separatist movement itself. Yannick, the leader of the moderate wing, is killed by Loic, the leader of the extremists, who now assumes full control. The hostages, hitherto housed comfortably under guard in various local hotels, are herded inside the Abbey. Loic issues an ultimatum to the French authorities. The Abbey will be destroyed and the hostages along with it if his demands are not met. As the deadline hour approaches, Loic discovers Gael’s “betrayal”. She has burned only duplicates of the paintings, not the originals. The Franco-American anti-terrorist squad makes its assault. Loic is on the point of detonating the explosive charges to blow up the Abbey and the hostages when he is shot dead by Gael. She, however, is killed, in turn, by a U.S. squad member who has misinterpreted her intentions. The Breton separatist revolt is quelled, their bid for an independent Breton nation shattered. Brittany will remain an integral part of France. ....But for how long? The lone, mysterious rider who crosses the sands in the final seconds of the movie (King Arthur? Merlin?) would suggest that the Celtic spirit endures and that, one day, it will rise again. FADE IN: 1 - EXT. LOUVRE MUSEUM, PARIS - NIGHT - ESTABLISHING 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------- BEGIN TITLES OVER A PANORAMIC AERIAL VIEW of Paris in the light of a pale full moon. CAMERA sweeps over the city revealing major landmarks: Eiffel Tower, River Seine, Champs Elysées, Place de la Concorde, etc., all beautifully illuminated. Still from an aerial perspective, CAMERA slowly approaches the Louvre Museum from the west, hovers momentarily over the Pyramid entrance before sweeping over the roof of the Denon wing and descending into the Cour Visconti. 2 - EXT. COUR VISCONTI, LOUVRE MUSEUM - NIGHT 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Several Victorian-style lamps stud the courtyard. Two small sphinxes stand on both sides of a door bearing the words "Ecole du Louvre". On another side of the courtyard, some building materials and equipment are stacked untidily under a metal awning. WORKERS are loading a large Saviem Truck with crates. They all wear overalls bearing the logo of the "Musée du Louvre." On the side of each crate, a label indicates its contents and destination: "Le Nain - Peasant Family in an Interior;" "Delacroix - Liberty leading the People, " "Delacroix - Women of Algiers," "Ingres - The Turkish Bath, " etc. The names of other great French painters flash by: Jean Clouet, Rigaud, Watteau, Quentin de la Tour... Their ultimate destination: Musée de l'Hermitage, Saint Petersbourg, Russie. END TITLES OVER The WORKERS move purposefully back and forth between the truck and the entrance doors of the loading dock into the museum. As each crate is stacked, the WORKER concerned announces the title. GAEL ESTOURBEILLON, an attractive, dark-haired, dark-eyed woman in her late twenties, checks the artwork on her list. WORKER #1 Jean Fouquet. Charles VII. He returns inside museum. WORKER #2 Watteau. Embarcation for Cythera. GAEL 036 David's Madame Récamier ? WORKER #2 Coming right up, Isabel. Gabriel's fixing the labels. GAEL (checking her clipboard) And the three Poussins. We still need them. WORKER #2 returns inside. A CRS OFFICER approaches. CRS OFFICER How many more? GAEL Just five. Then we go. The CRS OFFICER checks his watch. INSERT - WATCH FACE which reads 9 p.m. BACK TO SCENE CRS OFFICER Flight leaves at midnight? GAEL Eleven fifty. Charles de Gaulle. The CRS OFFICER pulls out his inter-com and relays a message as he rejoins a couple of his COLLEAGUES across the courtyard. The last CRATES are loaded. We observe GAEL from a distance checking them on her clipboard. She exchanges a brief comment with the WORKERS as they close the truck doors. GAEL (into her inter-com) Crates loaded. Ready to go. VOICE (through inter-com) Have a safe trip. GAEL signals to the CRS OFFICERS, then climbs into the cabin of the truck beside the DRIVER and shuts the door. Three C.R.S. OFFICERS climb onto their motorbikes. ENGINES start up. The TRUCK moves slowly to the exit gate flanked by the CRS motorbike escort. From her seat inside the cabin of the truck, GAEL rolls down her window and hands a sheet of paper to the GUARD at the gate. The barrier is raised and the convoy moves out onto the street. 3 - EXT. THE QUAIS ALONG THE RIVER SEINE - NIGHT – TRAVELING 3 ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Saviem truck moves slowly along the quayside toward the Châtelet, with the C.R.S. OUTRIDERS. CAMERA takes in the Pont des Arts, the Pont Neuf and other renowned Paris monuments - the Conciergerie, the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral, etc.- all illuminated against the night sky. Along the quayside and on the nearby bridges, we notice a few C.R.S. OFFICERS positioned at appropriate intervals. They monitor the convoy as it passes and relay messages through their intercoms.