The Black Monocle (Le Monocle noir)

Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention for a moment?

I ask you not to take this Black Monocle too seriously.

He studies a mad intellectual, surrounded by curious spies.

The spies are those of the others. Ours are secret agents.

Black humor is central in these adventures that Colonel Rémy

has imagined, without forgetting that reality sometimes surpasses fiction.

Naturally, any resemblance to existing characters would be purely coincidental. Come on...

Now that secret agents finally have no secrets, let us take advantage of it.

THE BLACK MONOCLE

The air is fresh.

It is the season again. We cannot complain.

- Do you smoke? - I never smoke.

We are going to have a drink, damn it!

That scoundrel has followed us all the way here. His car is in the street behind us.

We will give him a car-accident.

- How do we get back? - On foot. That will do you good.

When are we going to get drunk? As long as I do not catch a cold...

Vilemaur is a feudal castle whose origin goes back to the 10th century.

Demolished in the 12th century and rebuilt in the 13th century.

The north wing,

which has disappeared today, as well as the southeastern corner tower,

and the west wing date from 1465-1475.

Everything else dates from the 16th century.

This way, ladies and gentlemen.

This way, ladies and gentlemen.

As you can see, this is old and historical.

I told you that I would catch a cold.

- A grog must be made. - Are you crazy? Never alcohol.

Here is the old waiting room.

Made notorious by the murder of the Duke of Vergy

by the swordsmen of Hugues III, Marquis of Vilemaur.

I ask you for silence.

The victim came in here.

And the others threw themselves upon him in a mass. The body fell there.

- Bloodstains used to be visible here. - It is horrible.

- Historical. - Are the motives of the crime known?

A religious matter.

Some sang the mass in Latin, others in French.

They did not understand each other. You know how that goes... One word leads to another.

Everything is described in the brochure that you can buy when leaving the castle.

That is the custom. Everyone does that...

Here is the room of Diane de Poitiers.

- Good day, Mr. Curator. - Good day, my friend.

Upon entering, you will notice the two candlesticks of solid silver.

And the two Empire fountains.

You have many visitors. I am jealous.

For example! And the castles of the Rhine? Your old little towns?

I should be jealous. The Lorelei is certainly worth Diane de Poitiers.

For some days I have had the impression that the Lorelei is staying here.

Incognito.

- Mr. Curator... - Just call me Hubert.

- Would it not sound a bit administrative? - Among colleagues,

"Ms. Curator" sounds a bit official.

- So, Erika. - Erika, that sounds very nice.

Sir, there is a letter from the ministry.

Yes, later, miss. You can see that I am busy.

I see that.

From here started a gallery that led to the tower of the condemned.

You can see it through the window.

The tower.

There are the torture chamber, dungeons, secret cells, stairs and corridors.

It is unique and historical.

One does not visit it because of its state of decay.

The Beaux-Arts have been studying the restoration work for 20 years.

The file is on the right track.

Come... One does not go there either.

That is the curator's office. He has set it up there.

And the Marquis of Vilemaur has his apartment there.

It is still inhabited.

- Are there no ghosts? - On weekends and on holidays.

Against migraine: drink hot water in which a glowing hot iron has been stirred.

It is an effective home remedy.

- I'm off, guys. - Bye.

- It seems as if he is mocking you. - He can always try, you never know.

Trochu, have you contacted these gentlemen?

They arrived late. The car is not bad.

And them? What do you think of them?

Poor health. And your plans with Mr. the Marquis?

They are becoming clearer. Tonight we have an important dinner.

I would even say: "a crucial dinner".

- Happy birthday, Dad. - Thank you, my little one.

Thanks to all. I drink to the success of my plans.

I cannot reveal them to you, but my real friends will be glad about it.

To your plans. Are they very secret?

- Very much so. - Then I hope to belong to your real friends.

- Are you satisfied with your stay? - Very satisfied. And I am learning so many things.

Really?

- Mr. Curator is so helpful. - He likes old stones and beautiful women.

Is that so?

I do not let my work invade my private life.

- Is that the reason why you stay elsewhere? - Perhaps.

The French are well organized.

Yes. We know how to create a pleasant disorder around us.

Monsieur the Marquis, your daughter does not know our country.

Do not blame her. Her studies and her engagement

have not given her the time to discover the world.

- The world of today. - Venice, that is something for a honeymoon.

Quite right. So will you bring us your young wife?

It is Bénédicte who will take us where she wants to go.

Matthias will show me his land.

I do not know Germany.

Our sun is waiting for you. It shines for everyone.

You must not exaggerate, monsieur.

- My apologies. - That was a joke.

In my country, one likes to give the sun wrong.

- You are ruthless. - That is my only luxury.

He gives me the chills.

It is a hero.

Of course. That explains a lot.

Go ahead, madam.

Come, let us go to the garden.

You know very well that I would like that, but not tonight.

- You are becoming a snob, Matthias. - No, but your father needs me.

You are going to remake the world.

- Your father is a great scholar. - A dreamer.

Does it bother you that he already considers me as his son?

Yes. Since I brought you here, you are not the same anymore.

- Matthias, you are hiding something from me. - But no. You are now the one who is dreaming.

I will come back to you as soon as possible.

Love is beautiful. It is good for you.

- Cigar? - Thank you, yes please.

- Madam? - No.

- And you? - No, thank you.

Madam, I am convinced that you know Venice.

Of course. I have already been married a few times...

All the rooms look alike. Except breakfast. And one more thing...

You do not like Italians.

- I prefer the French. - Thank you.

Not all of them.

I hope so.

Few men dare boast that they are ruthless.

- That was a joke. - I do not believe it.

- Your past is known. - It is the future that counts.

There is only one possible future. The one we will make together.

I feel honored by your trust.

Mrs Murger wants to see my sound- and light installation during her study trip.

- If you wish... - I was just about to ask you that.

Show your works. Excuse me for not accompanying you.

I thank you.

This charming German woman gets from the curator everything she wants.

- He is willing to show her all his talents. - He is an exhibitionist.

And what if he were the only one who has nothing to hide?

We wanted to be alone; love itself is our accomplice.

"Love"!

It is the only word that has been found to describe this feeling.

Will you follow me? We will be calmer there.

Gentlemen...

I have important news that I want to tell you.

Our friends arrived last night.

This is Henrich von Moersch,

who is in charge of contact with us.

It is only a phase. Soon we can act.

That is nothing. The curator is only taking care of the atmosphere.

Young people need grand gestures to declare their love.

- And there, may one not visit it? - No.

That belongs to the marquis's private grounds.

- What does he do there? - Nothing. He is a member of the French Academy.

- Does he write? - Trifles.

Political works. He thinks above all.

Have you never been in the tower?

- He had the access closed off. - Can one not get in there?

The castle is connected to the tower via underground passages.

This whole terrace overlooking the river is hollowed out. The ruins are covered.

Everywhere in the fortress walls there are entrances to underground passages.

I have all the old castle plans in my archive.

- Will you show them to me? - At my place.

We will never have enough time to do everything.

Do not forget, gentlemen...

Adolf Hitler said in his wisdom: "I am not trying to attract the great masses."

"What we must be is an active minority."

"A historical minority. In our struggle there are two possibilities."

"Either the enemy will go over our bodies,"

"Or we will go over his." That Adolf!

The commander brings us the movement Vaderland en Vrijheid, of which he is the living symbol.

Vittorio Prozzi is responsible for Italian neo-fascism.

- It is only a handful of men. - The Bolsheviks were no more numerous.

Nor were we before the march on Rome.

A part of the German youth will follow us.

Do you think so?

The only thing they need is a new Führer.

We must invent him.

Wrong!

With us, revolutions are taken seriously.

We do not need to invent anything.

- Adolf Goerman will stand behind us. - He died during the fall of Berlin.

- In any case, gone. - Yes, of course.

Goerman, then leader of the Hitlerjugend, managed to escape from the Chancellery

at the moment the Russians broke in there.

He managed to reach a refuge in Bavaria, and afterwards Spain and South-America.

For fifteen years he has been sighted everywhere,

but there has never been any proof of his existence.

Many men have died to protect his escape.

But he is still alive and is willing to join us.

- Finally good news. - It is certain that... with Goerman...

But where is he?

Here.

He arrived last night, from Barcelona.

Heinrich von Moersch, head of his personal guard, can confirm it.

That did not happen without difficulties. They have followed us up to here.

But we have disabled the last link in the chain.