Mr. Jones (2019) Movie Script
I do not wish to comment on the work...
If it does not speak for itself, it is a failure.
I wanted to tell a story that could easily be understood by anyone.
A story so simple even a child could understand it.
The truth was too strange to tell any other way.
I was not born for an age like this.
I'm in.
The world is being invaded by monsters...
but I suppose you don't want to hear about that.
I could be writing romantic novels...
novels people actually want to read,
and maybe in a different age I would.
But if I tell the story of the monsters
through talking farm animals...
maybe then you will listen,
then you will understand.
The future is at stake so,
please read carefully, between the lines.
Mr. Chairman, from Manor Farm,
had locked the hen houses for the night,
Hitler and Goebbels are both there...
next thing you know,
we're strapped onto Hitlers plane...
to Richtoffen. The fastest and
most powerful plane in all of Germany.
On the flight, Goebbels is reading the papers,
while Hitler, ah.. Hitler...
studies a map of Europe,
and I couldn't help but think...
if this plane should crash,
the whole history of Europe would be changed.
Well... thank you young man
for that...
But the Germans have their own
unrest to worry about.
The Reichstag file is not unrest...
It was a tactic.
The Nazis now have an excuse
to end all opposition.
But how can you be so certain?
Goebbels told me.
War begins in the minds of men.
Goebbels believes the Reich will be here for a thousand years,
which means that they will most certainly
expand to the east into Poland.
The next great war gentlemen,
has already begun.
Herr Hitler will soon learn,
that there's a great deal of difference
between holding a rally...
and running a country.
I see Mr. Jones, has told you
we are at war.
Sorry to interrupt, ah,
there's a call from Moscow.
Who is it?
It's for Mr. Jones.
If you'll excuse me a moment gentlemen.
Do you know who it was?
They were speaking Russian.
You must go home.
If you have a home, don't you?
This is my home.
I never got to make my main strategic point,
which is...
to resist Hitler, we will need
an alliance with Stalin.
A man who performs miracles.
Miss Stevenson, do you know how
much the Rouble is worth?
Not very much.
Global economic collapse.
Meanwhile the Soviets are
having a spending spree.
How?
What's the matter?
Why have you poured me a cup of Tea?
I was wrong.
About your position.
The cuts are deeper than expected.
There's...
simply no money.
I'm so sorry.
He's waiting to see you
before you go.
My boy...
This depression, the casualties...
It's like another great war.
Goodbye sir.
It was an honour to serve you.
I couldn't have asked for a more
brilliant foreign advisor.
Sir, you...
you are surrounded by men
with decades of experience. But...
it is me you need sir.
I'm the only one who tells you the truth.
No-one else seems to understand
the gravity of the situation, sir.
I took the liberty of writing you
a letter of recommendation.
Thank you sir.
Ah, this is for you.
It's not finished, yet.
It's my report on the Soviet question.
And what's your answer?
I don't have one.
Stalin isn't returning my calls.
You could still send me to Moscow.
Ask him where the money is coming from.
But what happens after... your
conversation with Stalin?
Ah, I will go back to Wales.
Teach in my father's school in Barry...
get married and settle down.
And then, one day after a
long and comfortable life...
I will wake up screaming.
I've woken up screaming in Barry myself.
I'm sure you've woken up most
people with your screaming in Barry.
Everything takes time Mr. Jones.
Why are you in such a hurry
to visit Moscow?
I... I hear Moscow is beautiful
this time of year.
Yes, much.
And, you want a press card?
What's this?
My article.
We really need a, a letter from an editor....
a three page description of
what you will write about Russia,
copies of all the articles you have written
and the address of your publisher.
I don't have an editor
or a publisher. I'm a stringer.
Freelance.
Who will be paying for your keep?
Myself.
You are not a Journalist.
You want to be a Journalist.
Ah..
I... have interviewed Hitler...
I plan to interview Stalin.
You're funny Mr. Jones.
Moscow 71795.
Moscow 71795.
Mr.Klebb?
Yes?
- Telephone please.
OK. Sorry.
Paul! This is Gareth Jones. In London.
Listen, I'm on my way to Moscow.
Gareth, I've been trying to reach you.
So you're coming here?
Paul I need your help again,
this time arranging an interview with Stalin.
Please, tell me you know a way.
Go to Walter Duranty at the New York Times.
He has influence I'm...
Here, I am now persona non grata.
Listen, I really need to talk to you,
I found something big.
You can crack the story wide open.
It's worse than we thought before.
Paul?
Paul?
Your Visa application has been approved.
And, we have made arrangements for you
to be boarded at the Metroplataz.
The Metropol.
I was going to find an old hotel near the train
station but this is much more preferable.
You register with the
British Embassy when you arrive.
And then you register
with the Soviet State Office.
Failure to register forfeits your Visa.
Is it understood Mr. Jones?
I would love to see more of your
beautiful country other than just Moscow.
Right after you interview Stalin.
Good luck Mr. Jones.
New building. There was a lovely room here.
The Soviets have built more in five years
than our government can manage in ten.
You ought to visit factories...
British engineers here...
there's Vickers, you should talk to him.
I'll do that.
Where are they hosting you? In the Metropol?
- Yes.
How are things in London?
Lloyd George and MacDonald
solve the economic crises yet?
They have their best minds on the case.
Ah ha... and their best minds got us into this mess. Huh?
What have you heard from the Kremlin about Hitler?
Did Lloyd George tell you
to ask me that?
Hmm? Hitler make him nervous?
I'm afraid not.
Forgive me, we're putting the papers
I read your article.
You think Hitler really believes the things he said?
Lots of people say that he's deranged.
What is deranged?
In a deranged world, hmm?
There's talk in London we're headed to war.
Britain can't support another war.
Can the Soviets?
British engineers, new factories.
How is Stalin paying for it all?
Money I suppose.
They've not paid for it in Roubles.
Mr. Duranty.
You know how rich this country is. How vast.
Out of nothing but wheat fields.
Grain is Stalins gold.
That's a lot of grain.
In a five year plan, that's
more than double in their output.
Why are you really here, Mr. Jones?
I need your help arranging an interview with Stalin.
Mmm.
Are you 27, 28?
Does it matter?
Have you become so accustomed to
weekends in the country with Lloyd George that...
you think you can take tea with just any head of state?
I have no expectations.
I just have questions.
The numbers just don't add up.
The Kremlin is broke, so...
how are the Soviets suddenly on a spending spree?
Who is providing the finance?
Forgive me. The fact that I have more
questions than answers for you makes me nervous.
hmm.
Who got you on the plane with Hitler?
I had help.
From a journalist.
It was Paul Klebb who helped me get on Hitler's plane.
He tipped me off where he would be and when.
Actually I... I have to go, ahh...
He's staying in the Metropol I'm...
hoping to catch him this evening.
This is good. More of this.
She's my star.
I depend on her.
Paul Klebb is dead.
A robbery three days ago.
You didn't know?
No.
Hmm.
Did you know him well?
We met in Berlin ah...
He was a friend.
Where did it.. where did it happen?
Outside the Metropol.
Having some people over this evening.
Journalists mostly. Care to join?
Ahh.. yes, yes of course.
Ahh thank you.
Welcome.
Mr. Jones?
You are staying tonight.
Ahh.. no, I'm here for one week.
I was told tonight.
My, my Visa is for one week, ah..
It says so on the stamp.
We're full that many nights.
Metropol is holding a conference.
Ah.. do you know another hotel nearby?
I'm afraid you're only authorised to stay here.
Only for tonight.
Ah.. right then. Tonight.
Hey, what's going down here?
Oh, the hotel is on high alert.
There was a robbery.
Cushny's very worried.
There's top security round here.
Where you from?
Wales.
Are you here for the Western Mail?
Stringer.
Eugene Lyons, United Press.
Yes, I know.
Gareth Jones.
I enjoyed your articles on the
construction of the electrical grid.
You must know Metro Vickers finest...
- L.C. Thornton, John Cushny - How do you do.
- Hello.
Is Metro Vickers holding a conference
in the hotel this week?
No.
Who gave you that idea?
Come on, I look like I could use a drink!
Why do you look so familiar?
Doesn't he look familiar, Lyons.
You're that Welsh chappie that
interviewed Hitler!
You're definitely coming with us.
Everybody comes to Duranty's,
the best party's in Moscow.
Oh hey, I see you guys have
got started without us...
the party's already in full swing.
He told me he was persona non grata
with the regime. Do you know why?
Did you know what he was working on?
There's not much else to do here is there?
When you're not allowed to leave Moscow.
And what kind of reporting
can you do confines you?
Wait... journalists are confined to Moscow?
For protection?
Yeah, that's right!
What are they... are they paranoid about spies?
Have you ever read Edgar Alan Poe's
The Mask of the Red Death?
The Mask of the Red Death.
Have you read it? - No.
Get a copy before they ban it.
Do you know...
Do you know where the money is coming from?
Duranty said grain is Stalin's gold.
Grain is Stalin's gold?
Duranty actually said that?
That's a hell of a line!
Ask him why he never bothered to use it in print.
Muggeridge, Barnes, come over here!
Lloyd George wants an interview!
Malcolm Muggeridge.
- Let's dance!
- Gareth Jones.
Have you met Bonnie?
So you inject it yourself?
Just like a nurse would?
You wanna try some?
What's it like?
It's like...
being in the arms of God.
"The Light Whose Name is Splendour.
What'd you say, honey?
Oh, it's ah...
It's an old Welsh poem.
"Battle of the Trees.
Yes!
It's like poetry!
- Are you sure?
- No, no, I'm... thank you.
Why don't you give it to me then.
- O no, ah...
- You won't hurt me.
- You just have to be gentle.
- O no, that's quite alright.
Leaving so soon?
Mr. Duranty...
Mr. Jones...
Did you enjoy yourself?
I can honestly say that I've,
never seen anything quite like it.
Is Bonnie alright, not quite to your taste?
Pardon me?
Perhaps, perhaps you would prefer... her?
I came...
Sorry, thank you.
I came here to work, Mr. Duranty.
There's nothing to be ashamed of.
You can do whatever you like here.
It's ah... curious, that the Kremlin
confines journalists to Moscow.
Thank you.
You don't drink.
You don't appreciate the
gorgeous girls at my party,
You are rather dull, Mr. Jones.
There are other things in life,
I suppose.
Such as?
Well, ah...
I'm standing opposite a completely naked Pulitzer Prize Winner.
My life can.. can't be the boring can it!
Come here. I'm gonna show you..
My son...
refuses to learn English,
proud Russian.
Alright...
Goodnight, Mr. Jones,
get home safely.
Goodnight, Mr. Duranty.
Hey.
Were you at Duranty's?
Yes.
Do you mind running this upstairs and leaving this on his desk?
It's like the opium den up there isn't it.
Hey!
His office is third door to the left.
- I couldn't help myself. I took a quick look at your article.
- Did you...?
- But...
- Shh...
Who is that?
That's my 'big brother'.
I thought it was well written.
Thank you.
I'm interested in your reporting on
Stalins new tanks and plane factories.
It's the Americans.
Duranty's trying to lure them here.
So Duranty's playing peacemaker?
The Revolution won't succeed
without foreign investment.
- The British Government is here.
- That's not enough.
The Americans need to see
they can make money here.
Washington's boycott
will finally be over.
And the Revolution
will be well on its way again.
What other choice do we have?
I just didn't think that
Duranty had an agenda.
Or that he was advising
the President of the United States.
Did you know, Paul Klebb?
Everyone knew Paul.
Do you happen to know
what he was working on?
Here's my door, goodnight.
Ada!
It's my first night.
Care to join me in a bowl of borscht?
No.
Good luck in Moscow.
Good morning.
May I come in?
I'm on deadline.
What are you working on?
I'm researching a story on
agricultural output collectivisation
of former agrarian systems.
That sounds fascinating!
What are your sources?
I don't have much time for...
Is there something I can help you with?
My sources tell me you're foreign affairs
advisor to Lloyd George.
- Is that not the case anymore?
- I am.
You've been checking up on me!
Look. I really need to get back to my work.
I've got a thing about deadlines!
What do you want?
The story no-one is talking about.
I can see for myself numbers,
they don't add up..
There is a story here.
I think, Paul was on to it.
Don't say anything, just listen.
Paul was working on a story that,
he was afraid to talk about.
I spoke to Paul the day he was murdered.
He sounded like he needed to talk.
Do you have any idea what?
He was so stubborn.
Paul, the Apostle.
I saw him.
Before Bert sent him packing.
(And then he got a bullet in him.)
And you don't think it was a robbery.
What was Paul working on?
Come on tell me?
What was Paul working on?
The Ukraine.
Stalin's Gold...
And journalists aren't allowed in Ukraine.
That's where he was headed
the day he was shot.
You're not Paul.
Go home, Gareth.
Mr. Jones, my
former foreign advisor...
- Can I use your typewriter?
- Why?
I left mine at home.
You write poetry?
- Do you always go where you're not wanted?
- Read me one of your poems!
My mother used to read me poetry.
Welsh poems mostly.
"I know the light whose name is splendour,
and the number of the ruling lights,
that scatter rays of fire high above the deep.
It's ah.. "Battle of the Trees.
You've got five minutes.
I only need one.
Mr. Jones,
my valued, foreign advisor...
I am going to Ukraine.
- Eat! Eat!
- Thank you.
- Caviar?
- No, thank you.
- Wine?
- I don't drink.
Thank you for seeing me at such short notice.
Nonsense! Lloyd George's foreign advisor
is Moscows honour to receive you!
But...
it is very odd,
if you don't mind me saying so,
that you have requested a press visa,
not a diplomatic one.
Why would Lloyd George's foreign advisor
come to Moscow as a journalist?
What, what's this?
A letter of introduction from
my employer, Lloyd George.
Relations between our two countries
has finally normalized.
We have our best engineers here,
Metro Vickers helping you power your factories.
I hope I can speak freely,
friend to friend.
Sure.
It was Lloyd George who
arranged that interview with Hitler,
and it confirmed our worse fears.
I ah.. I came as a journalist so as not to attract
attention from the Germans.
There is... concern in London that... the Soviet Union
would not be able to defend itself should Hitler attack.
Attack?
You read the same papers we do.
You have your agents in Germany.
They're all hearing the same thing, are they not?
If we are to contain Hitler,
we must open two fronts.
Can you hold the Eastern Front?
Mr. Jones...
Metro Vickers may be qualified
to build up our factories,
but they are nothing compared to
the engineers, Soviet engineers.
We have building new planes
and tanks in Kharkov.
- Stalin...
- In Ukraine?
- What?
- In Ukraine?
Yes, Yes, in Ukraine.
In fact!
Mr. Jones, why don't you see for yourself!
I would be happy to arrange a trip for you,
to see just how prepared we are..
for an attack from the Germans!
or the British.
Paul gave me this before he left.
All the information is there,
where he was going.
Wanted me to have it
in case he never made it back.
Want some tea?
How goes the agenda now?
I don't have an agenda.
Unless you call truth, an agenda.
Yes, but whose truth?
- The truth. There is only one kind.
- You're so naive.
Journalism is the noblest profession,
you follow the facts, wherever it leads.
You don't take sides.
My father is in the Foreign Service.
I grew up mostly in Berlin. There's no place
like it, the freedom of art and music and culture
and Nazis destroying everything.
So quickly. And I'm afraid for...
I'm...
I'm afraid for my friends..
They're arresting everyone in the Communist Party.
We have to succeed. We don't have a choice.
You sound like you work for Stalin.
I don't work for Stalin. I believe
in a movement that's bigger than one person.
What if you're wrong?
That's just not another option, is it?
Look there are cycles of history
just like thee are cycles of nature.
There's been nothing but war and depression,
and now... is a chance to rebuild...
their fight for the future, a future for the people,
the weak, the workers - and that's what the Soviets are doing.
Do you believe in the state that put
four bullets in your friend's back?
No...
I believe that this movement
is bigger than any of us.
Paul Klebb was a human sacrifice...
Do you hear yourself?
Tea?
I'll go make us some more tea.
The most magnificent
musical instrument ever invented.
It's so odd.
- Oh, wait...
- That's it...
- And that's the song?
- Yes, that's the song, yeah.
The only song I can play.
My mother didn't bring much back
but this is what she....
Did she teach English in Ukraine?
- Stalino?
- It was Hughesovka back then.
In fact...
Klebb's map takes me,
to where she once lived.
My mother died when I was eleven.
In her sleep.
I think she killed herself.
- If you met my father, you'd understand why.
- Your father still stationed in Berlin?
That town.
That's where I met Paul.
Come with me, Ada.
Come and see where my mother lived.
And find the fondness in your heart.
Ada...
No, don't go.
No, just go.
Go now.
We're in Ukraine.
Oh yeah.
How did you know that?
My mother spent some time here
I ah... I just, ah...
There, comrade is the
answer to all our problems.
It is summed up in a single word... man.
Man is the only real enemy we have.
Remove man from the scene,
and the root cause of hunger,
and rule of work is abolished forever.
Somehow it seemed as though
the farm had grown richer
without making the animals themselves any richer -
except of course... the pigs and dogs.
All animals are equal,
but some animals are more equal than others.
- Six engineers.
- Six?
Are you aware that
London might see this as an act of war?
- What about Washington!
- We don't want any questions.
What do you mean?! No questions?
Mr. Cushny?
Mr. Jones...
I'm surprised, Lloyd George
would risk his foreign advisor.
He didn't.
No?
Are you saying,
we should release you?
What about the engineers?
Should we release them too?
This is what we'll do:
We will send you back to Lloyd George,
but we will keep the other spies.
And when Lloyd George's foreign advisor
returns to England and tells the truth
about what he saw,
your engineers will live.
Mr. Jones...
Did you enjoy your trip to the country-side?
Good.
You saw the happy
and proud farmers?
The remarkable efficiency of
our collective farms?
And any rumours of a famine, are
just that, simply rumours.
What are they?
- Rumours.
- And...?
There is no famine.
And repeat!
There is no famine.
Good.
As you know...
There are those that would
like to see, our revolution fail.
But we won't let that happen.
Will we Mr. Jones?
- No.
- I've arranged your passage home.
We have your suitcase here for you.
Mr. Jones...
I'll have you know,
I convinced them to let you go.
You don't deserve to be in a prison,
for your bravery.
You knew, Mr. Duranty.
You what?
How much is Stalin paying you?
What's keeping you here,
lying for them?
You wouldn't know, the first thing about how
difficult it is to report for Moscow today, would you?
Of course not,
you're just a child.
It is not the job of a journalist to say:
"How dare you sir.
You actually thought, you could interview Stalin
and make some kind of difference didn't you?
A souvenir from my trip.
- Tree bark... It's all the people have left to eat.
- Alright...
You can put it next to your Pulitzer.
My dear Mr. Jones...
There comes a time in every man's life,
when he must choose a course...
greater than himself,
than all his miserable little ambitions
put together.
Perhaps someday you will.
It's a shame!
You would have made a fine journalist.
Well, I guess now, the censors
are gonna be really busy!
Just wait.... a few days.
Ada!
There he is. Jones!
You look great. Good to see you!
I want you to meet my newest published author.
- What do I call you now?
- Eric Blair.
Gareth Jones.
You won't find Blair on the bookshelf.
You have to look for "Orwell.
George Orwell.
After the river.
Thank you.
- I think Mr. Jones needs a drink.
- He doesn't drink.
I think you're my only client, who doesn't.
Then he might actually get some work done.
One of us must.
- We're not a charity Leonard.
- Nonsense!
"Down and Out in Paris and London
will be a sensation.
Leonard tells me, you're working
on a book about the Soviet Union.
Oh, I've... I've been using that line for some time I'm afraid.
I... I do have a story...
but if I tell it, six innocent men will die.
- What men?
- The British engineers.
But if I write the story,
millions of lives may be saved.
I think, ah...
you speak the truth.
Regardless of the consequences it is...
your duty and... it is our right to... to hear you.
It's just common sense isn't it?
The six British citizens
whom I believe are innocent,
are being held as
bargaining chips by Moscow.
If we in the West, fold to this blackmail,
we are, potentially allowing
unprecedented catastrophe.
The Soviet Union is not the
worker's paradise that was promised.
It is not the 'Great Experiment'
you read about in the press.
Stalin has no stunning new achievement.
Unless you consider, killing millions
of innocent people an achievement.
Make no mistake.
If we let him get away
with this man made famine,
there will be others like him...
Thank you very much.
Quite a story.
Maybe The Soviets are
doing the best they can,
making the best decisions they can...
given the circumstances.
What about their free schools?
Free hospitals?
Yes, but at what cost?
A more egalitarian study does exist,
it's just not perfect, we..
We can't expect it to be,
experiments take time to gel.
An egalitarian society...
It's the same system of
exploitation that exists here,
only it's worse.
Unimaginably worse.
- I know what I saw.
- Of course you do...
Of course you do, but...
But one has to put it in the proper context.
Listen to me.
Stalin is not the man, who you think he is.
Are you saying, there's no hope?
Why didn't the New York Times
break the famine story?
Consider the source: Lloyd George's aid comes out with this
now in the middle of all this business with the British engineers.
What are you hearing?
It's all over-blown, hysteria.
- What does London want. Another war?
- You'll get to the bottom of this?
- Of course.
- We need it tomorrow.
Just as that moment,
as though at a signal,
all the sheep burst out,
in tremendous bleating,
"Four legs good, two legs better!
Went on for five minutes without stopping.
By the time the sheep has quieted down,
the chance to utter any protest passed,
for the pigs had marched
back into the farmhouse...
- Mr. Duranty's waiting for me.
He knows, if you ever decide to leave,
they won't let you take them with you.
They'll hold them here.
As ransom.
Along with anything else,
The Kremlin has on you.
I thought you wanted a raise.
- What will you do when the offers come forward?
- There aren't going to be others.
You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.
What's being done here, will transform mankind.
Darling, bring that chair, right here.
Come on.
Aren't you the least bit concerned,
what they'll do to Mr. Jones?
They start believing him?
Fetch that chair, bring it right over here.
Put it right down here.
A bit closer.
In all my time in Moscow...
I have never heard a tale as
preposterous as that of Mr. Jones.
Go on, type!
Certainly, conditions are not ideal, in the Soviet Union,
There are still great challenges,
but Stalin continues his march
toward modernity.
March towards modernity.
You can protect him.
Right.
An exaggeration, of the now notorious...
Gareth Jones, do not portray...
the real modern Russia where Stalin is admired...
and loved.
Signed:
Ada Brooks.
Yeah.
Your passage to the future.
It's an old friend in New York, it's an editor.
The only monsters they have, are bankers.
You have a choice, Ada?
Think of Paul.
I received an urgent phone call
this morning from Mr. Litvinov,
Commissar for Foreign Affairs.
He told me some disturbing things
about your unauthorised trip.
I assured Mr. Litvinov,
that you will retract your statement to the press,
and clear up this matter immediately.
- Or they will shoot our engineers?
- That matter does not concern you.
They are holding them hostage sir.
Blackmailing us from speaking out.
- You broke serious laws in a foreign country!
- You wanted to know the truth as much as I did!
You were released weeks ago from my employ.
You no longer work for me,
or His Majesty's Government.
If you had any sense, you would do as I ask!
Have you seen so many wars that the
murder of innocent people means nothing to you??
How can I retract... the empty villages?
The orphaned children plagued by hunger?
We can still do something sir....
- We can still help.
- Mr. Jones.
- We cannot let Stalin get away with this!
- What do you expect me to do, exactly!?
Break off all ties, when our economy
is already on its knees?
You betrayed my trust,
you betrayed your country.
You will retract your statement publicly.
Without delay!
You've gone too far.
I... I will not be silenced sir.
They're saying, you lied..
They're all saying...
Diplomatic crisis has erupted between the East and the West.
The latest accusation comes from
a young man by the name of Gareth Jones.
It should be noted, that Mr. Jones is
the foreign advisor to David Lloyd George.
The claim from Lloyd George's secretary,
is that a famine plagues The Soviet Union.
I spoke to various experts myself,
and can confirm, the conditions
remain difficult during the five year plan...
- My god.
-... but my readers will be reassured:
that the famine story,
is entirely false.
New York Times.
Duranty debunks our dear Mr. Jones.
It's a shame, he hasn't mentioned
he's Lloyd George's Secretary.
Gareth.
You were cleverer than all of us.
Last place I thought you'd end up.
Thought you'd be
Prime Minister by now.
We've already had one Welsh Prime Minister this century.
Mustnt be greedy.
I am happy to have you here, I am...
Look I promised the publishers to keep you away
from foreign affairs and politics...
But that does leave things like... culture.
Bryn! Gareth Jones, remember him?
He's back! The legend returns!
- Hold on, culture?
- Yes!
Anything to help people to forget the terrible state we're in.
Morning.
I've got you in with me. Hope that's ok?
And we shall be as snug as...
Good morning! Good morning! Good morning!
This just in from Moscow:
The Soviet Union will release the remaining British Engineers and...
- No, no.
- may be able to return home as early as next week.
Kremlin officials in Washington today, have much to celebrate:
After a series of negotiations with the Whitehouse,
the United States has officially recognized The Soviet Union...
- Cheers!
- Cheers!
American business leaders have long welcomed this move,
as a way to expand trade.
With the man credited for
convincing President Roosevelt, is Walter Duranty,
better known to his readers as
"Our Man In Moscow".
The creatures outside looked from pig to man,
and from man to pig,
and from pig to man again;
but already, it was impossible to say, which was which.
That's Gareth Jones.
The man whose mad.
Run! Run!
Gareth!
Are you alright?
Those church ladies
refusing to talk to you are they?
No rush.
You planning on
submitting your article soon?
He's here!
Blimey!
Who's here?
Hearst.
William Randolph Hearst.
He summers near ... St. Donats.
You've been away a long time.
Of course.
Of course! Hearst bought St. Donats.
Where do you think you're going?
- I've got to talk to him.
- Not a word!
Gareth!
Gareth wait!
Gareth!
Gareth, wait!
Every summer we try
to get an interview with Hearst...
and every summer we get denied.
Not this summer.
I'm the assistant editor now!
I have to play my cards carefully, do you understand?
Fine.
- I'll interview him.
- Are you mad?
I can't have you going to St. Donats.
You've gabled with your career.
You're not gambling with mine.
Can I help you?
I work for the Western Mail.
Well, as you can see, we're rather busy.
I just returned from Moscow...
I have a story that will run
on the front of Mr. Hearst's newspapers.
I suggest you talk to his newspapers then.
Didn't you say,
you write for the Western Mail?
Why would you give your story
to Mr. Hearst, a competitor?
Mr. Hearst's papers
have more lawyers.
I'm afraid you're trespassing.
I must ask you to leave.
If you'll just give me one minute, I...
Thank you! Thank you!
I have my bike.
- I, I let myself in through the... kitchen..
- Eres!
Mr. Hearst, believe me,
I have something you want to hear.
Peter!
I have a story of Pulitzer making
a terrible mistake Mr. Hearst.
Let him be!
You have thirty seconds.
I just returned from Moscow.
I took a train south and saw empty village after empty village.
- I have a famine story.
- I saw it with my own eyes, Mr. Hearst.
The world has just lost one of its best reporters,
a man who I know you tried to hire.
Chased Klebb for years...
- Do you think, they killed him?
- You thought so too.
Why did they want Paul dead?
- The same reason they're discrediting me.
- You're certain it was the famine story got him killed?
A journalist who worked with him confirmed it.
Well, if I commission an article from you...
it will be your word against Duranty's Pulitzer.
Yes.
Famine in The Soviet Union!
Dear Gareth,
I am home, in Berlin...
How quickly things fall apart.
I'm writing for Berliner Tageblatt again,
at the moment. Until they shut us down.
I read your article.
You were right:
There is only one truth.
Congratulations, Gareth.
Paul would be so proud.
Wherever you're off to next,
make sure to pack a good bag.
For days at a time,
the animals had nothing to eat but chaff and mangles.
Starvation seems to stare them in the face.
It was likely necessary to
conceal this fact from the outside world.
Emboldened by the collapse of the windmill,
the human beings were inventing fresh lies, about animal farm.
If it does not speak for itself, it is a failure.
I wanted to tell a story that could easily be understood by anyone.
A story so simple even a child could understand it.
The truth was too strange to tell any other way.
I was not born for an age like this.
I'm in.
The world is being invaded by monsters...
but I suppose you don't want to hear about that.
I could be writing romantic novels...
novels people actually want to read,
and maybe in a different age I would.
But if I tell the story of the monsters
through talking farm animals...
maybe then you will listen,
then you will understand.
The future is at stake so,
please read carefully, between the lines.
Mr. Chairman, from Manor Farm,
had locked the hen houses for the night,
Hitler and Goebbels are both there...
next thing you know,
we're strapped onto Hitlers plane...
to Richtoffen. The fastest and
most powerful plane in all of Germany.
On the flight, Goebbels is reading the papers,
while Hitler, ah.. Hitler...
studies a map of Europe,
and I couldn't help but think...
if this plane should crash,
the whole history of Europe would be changed.
Well... thank you young man
for that...
But the Germans have their own
unrest to worry about.
The Reichstag file is not unrest...
It was a tactic.
The Nazis now have an excuse
to end all opposition.
But how can you be so certain?
Goebbels told me.
War begins in the minds of men.
Goebbels believes the Reich will be here for a thousand years,
which means that they will most certainly
expand to the east into Poland.
The next great war gentlemen,
has already begun.
Herr Hitler will soon learn,
that there's a great deal of difference
between holding a rally...
and running a country.
I see Mr. Jones, has told you
we are at war.
Sorry to interrupt, ah,
there's a call from Moscow.
Who is it?
It's for Mr. Jones.
If you'll excuse me a moment gentlemen.
Do you know who it was?
They were speaking Russian.
You must go home.
If you have a home, don't you?
This is my home.
I never got to make my main strategic point,
which is...
to resist Hitler, we will need
an alliance with Stalin.
A man who performs miracles.
Miss Stevenson, do you know how
much the Rouble is worth?
Not very much.
Global economic collapse.
Meanwhile the Soviets are
having a spending spree.
How?
What's the matter?
Why have you poured me a cup of Tea?
I was wrong.
About your position.
The cuts are deeper than expected.
There's...
simply no money.
I'm so sorry.
He's waiting to see you
before you go.
My boy...
This depression, the casualties...
It's like another great war.
Goodbye sir.
It was an honour to serve you.
I couldn't have asked for a more
brilliant foreign advisor.
Sir, you...
you are surrounded by men
with decades of experience. But...
it is me you need sir.
I'm the only one who tells you the truth.
No-one else seems to understand
the gravity of the situation, sir.
I took the liberty of writing you
a letter of recommendation.
Thank you sir.
Ah, this is for you.
It's not finished, yet.
It's my report on the Soviet question.
And what's your answer?
I don't have one.
Stalin isn't returning my calls.
You could still send me to Moscow.
Ask him where the money is coming from.
But what happens after... your
conversation with Stalin?
Ah, I will go back to Wales.
Teach in my father's school in Barry...
get married and settle down.
And then, one day after a
long and comfortable life...
I will wake up screaming.
I've woken up screaming in Barry myself.
I'm sure you've woken up most
people with your screaming in Barry.
Everything takes time Mr. Jones.
Why are you in such a hurry
to visit Moscow?
I... I hear Moscow is beautiful
this time of year.
Yes, much.
And, you want a press card?
What's this?
My article.
We really need a, a letter from an editor....
a three page description of
what you will write about Russia,
copies of all the articles you have written
and the address of your publisher.
I don't have an editor
or a publisher. I'm a stringer.
Freelance.
Who will be paying for your keep?
Myself.
You are not a Journalist.
You want to be a Journalist.
Ah..
I... have interviewed Hitler...
I plan to interview Stalin.
You're funny Mr. Jones.
Moscow 71795.
Moscow 71795.
Mr.Klebb?
Yes?
- Telephone please.
OK. Sorry.
Paul! This is Gareth Jones. In London.
Listen, I'm on my way to Moscow.
Gareth, I've been trying to reach you.
So you're coming here?
Paul I need your help again,
this time arranging an interview with Stalin.
Please, tell me you know a way.
Go to Walter Duranty at the New York Times.
He has influence I'm...
Here, I am now persona non grata.
Listen, I really need to talk to you,
I found something big.
You can crack the story wide open.
It's worse than we thought before.
Paul?
Paul?
Your Visa application has been approved.
And, we have made arrangements for you
to be boarded at the Metroplataz.
The Metropol.
I was going to find an old hotel near the train
station but this is much more preferable.
You register with the
British Embassy when you arrive.
And then you register
with the Soviet State Office.
Failure to register forfeits your Visa.
Is it understood Mr. Jones?
I would love to see more of your
beautiful country other than just Moscow.
Right after you interview Stalin.
Good luck Mr. Jones.
New building. There was a lovely room here.
The Soviets have built more in five years
than our government can manage in ten.
You ought to visit factories...
British engineers here...
there's Vickers, you should talk to him.
I'll do that.
Where are they hosting you? In the Metropol?
- Yes.
How are things in London?
Lloyd George and MacDonald
solve the economic crises yet?
They have their best minds on the case.
Ah ha... and their best minds got us into this mess. Huh?
What have you heard from the Kremlin about Hitler?
Did Lloyd George tell you
to ask me that?
Hmm? Hitler make him nervous?
I'm afraid not.
Forgive me, we're putting the papers
I read your article.
You think Hitler really believes the things he said?
Lots of people say that he's deranged.
What is deranged?
In a deranged world, hmm?
There's talk in London we're headed to war.
Britain can't support another war.
Can the Soviets?
British engineers, new factories.
How is Stalin paying for it all?
Money I suppose.
They've not paid for it in Roubles.
Mr. Duranty.
You know how rich this country is. How vast.
Out of nothing but wheat fields.
Grain is Stalins gold.
That's a lot of grain.
In a five year plan, that's
more than double in their output.
Why are you really here, Mr. Jones?
I need your help arranging an interview with Stalin.
Mmm.
Are you 27, 28?
Does it matter?
Have you become so accustomed to
weekends in the country with Lloyd George that...
you think you can take tea with just any head of state?
I have no expectations.
I just have questions.
The numbers just don't add up.
The Kremlin is broke, so...
how are the Soviets suddenly on a spending spree?
Who is providing the finance?
Forgive me. The fact that I have more
questions than answers for you makes me nervous.
hmm.
Who got you on the plane with Hitler?
I had help.
From a journalist.
It was Paul Klebb who helped me get on Hitler's plane.
He tipped me off where he would be and when.
Actually I... I have to go, ahh...
He's staying in the Metropol I'm...
hoping to catch him this evening.
This is good. More of this.
She's my star.
I depend on her.
Paul Klebb is dead.
A robbery three days ago.
You didn't know?
No.
Hmm.
Did you know him well?
We met in Berlin ah...
He was a friend.
Where did it.. where did it happen?
Outside the Metropol.
Having some people over this evening.
Journalists mostly. Care to join?
Ahh.. yes, yes of course.
Ahh thank you.
Welcome.
Mr. Jones?
You are staying tonight.
Ahh.. no, I'm here for one week.
I was told tonight.
My, my Visa is for one week, ah..
It says so on the stamp.
We're full that many nights.
Metropol is holding a conference.
Ah.. do you know another hotel nearby?
I'm afraid you're only authorised to stay here.
Only for tonight.
Ah.. right then. Tonight.
Hey, what's going down here?
Oh, the hotel is on high alert.
There was a robbery.
Cushny's very worried.
There's top security round here.
Where you from?
Wales.
Are you here for the Western Mail?
Stringer.
Eugene Lyons, United Press.
Yes, I know.
Gareth Jones.
I enjoyed your articles on the
construction of the electrical grid.
You must know Metro Vickers finest...
- L.C. Thornton, John Cushny - How do you do.
- Hello.
Is Metro Vickers holding a conference
in the hotel this week?
No.
Who gave you that idea?
Come on, I look like I could use a drink!
Why do you look so familiar?
Doesn't he look familiar, Lyons.
You're that Welsh chappie that
interviewed Hitler!
You're definitely coming with us.
Everybody comes to Duranty's,
the best party's in Moscow.
Oh hey, I see you guys have
got started without us...
the party's already in full swing.
He told me he was persona non grata
with the regime. Do you know why?
Did you know what he was working on?
There's not much else to do here is there?
When you're not allowed to leave Moscow.
And what kind of reporting
can you do confines you?
Wait... journalists are confined to Moscow?
For protection?
Yeah, that's right!
What are they... are they paranoid about spies?
Have you ever read Edgar Alan Poe's
The Mask of the Red Death?
The Mask of the Red Death.
Have you read it? - No.
Get a copy before they ban it.
Do you know...
Do you know where the money is coming from?
Duranty said grain is Stalin's gold.
Grain is Stalin's gold?
Duranty actually said that?
That's a hell of a line!
Ask him why he never bothered to use it in print.
Muggeridge, Barnes, come over here!
Lloyd George wants an interview!
Malcolm Muggeridge.
- Let's dance!
- Gareth Jones.
Have you met Bonnie?
So you inject it yourself?
Just like a nurse would?
You wanna try some?
What's it like?
It's like...
being in the arms of God.
"The Light Whose Name is Splendour.
What'd you say, honey?
Oh, it's ah...
It's an old Welsh poem.
"Battle of the Trees.
Yes!
It's like poetry!
- Are you sure?
- No, no, I'm... thank you.
Why don't you give it to me then.
- O no, ah...
- You won't hurt me.
- You just have to be gentle.
- O no, that's quite alright.
Leaving so soon?
Mr. Duranty...
Mr. Jones...
Did you enjoy yourself?
I can honestly say that I've,
never seen anything quite like it.
Is Bonnie alright, not quite to your taste?
Pardon me?
Perhaps, perhaps you would prefer... her?
I came...
Sorry, thank you.
I came here to work, Mr. Duranty.
There's nothing to be ashamed of.
You can do whatever you like here.
It's ah... curious, that the Kremlin
confines journalists to Moscow.
Thank you.
You don't drink.
You don't appreciate the
gorgeous girls at my party,
You are rather dull, Mr. Jones.
There are other things in life,
I suppose.
Such as?
Well, ah...
I'm standing opposite a completely naked Pulitzer Prize Winner.
My life can.. can't be the boring can it!
Come here. I'm gonna show you..
My son...
refuses to learn English,
proud Russian.
Alright...
Goodnight, Mr. Jones,
get home safely.
Goodnight, Mr. Duranty.
Hey.
Were you at Duranty's?
Yes.
Do you mind running this upstairs and leaving this on his desk?
It's like the opium den up there isn't it.
Hey!
His office is third door to the left.
- I couldn't help myself. I took a quick look at your article.
- Did you...?
- But...
- Shh...
Who is that?
That's my 'big brother'.
I thought it was well written.
Thank you.
I'm interested in your reporting on
Stalins new tanks and plane factories.
It's the Americans.
Duranty's trying to lure them here.
So Duranty's playing peacemaker?
The Revolution won't succeed
without foreign investment.
- The British Government is here.
- That's not enough.
The Americans need to see
they can make money here.
Washington's boycott
will finally be over.
And the Revolution
will be well on its way again.
What other choice do we have?
I just didn't think that
Duranty had an agenda.
Or that he was advising
the President of the United States.
Did you know, Paul Klebb?
Everyone knew Paul.
Do you happen to know
what he was working on?
Here's my door, goodnight.
Ada!
It's my first night.
Care to join me in a bowl of borscht?
No.
Good luck in Moscow.
Good morning.
May I come in?
I'm on deadline.
What are you working on?
I'm researching a story on
agricultural output collectivisation
of former agrarian systems.
That sounds fascinating!
What are your sources?
I don't have much time for...
Is there something I can help you with?
My sources tell me you're foreign affairs
advisor to Lloyd George.
- Is that not the case anymore?
- I am.
You've been checking up on me!
Look. I really need to get back to my work.
I've got a thing about deadlines!
What do you want?
The story no-one is talking about.
I can see for myself numbers,
they don't add up..
There is a story here.
I think, Paul was on to it.
Don't say anything, just listen.
Paul was working on a story that,
he was afraid to talk about.
I spoke to Paul the day he was murdered.
He sounded like he needed to talk.
Do you have any idea what?
He was so stubborn.
Paul, the Apostle.
I saw him.
Before Bert sent him packing.
(And then he got a bullet in him.)
And you don't think it was a robbery.
What was Paul working on?
Come on tell me?
What was Paul working on?
The Ukraine.
Stalin's Gold...
And journalists aren't allowed in Ukraine.
That's where he was headed
the day he was shot.
You're not Paul.
Go home, Gareth.
Mr. Jones, my
former foreign advisor...
- Can I use your typewriter?
- Why?
I left mine at home.
You write poetry?
- Do you always go where you're not wanted?
- Read me one of your poems!
My mother used to read me poetry.
Welsh poems mostly.
"I know the light whose name is splendour,
and the number of the ruling lights,
that scatter rays of fire high above the deep.
It's ah.. "Battle of the Trees.
You've got five minutes.
I only need one.
Mr. Jones,
my valued, foreign advisor...
I am going to Ukraine.
- Eat! Eat!
- Thank you.
- Caviar?
- No, thank you.
- Wine?
- I don't drink.
Thank you for seeing me at such short notice.
Nonsense! Lloyd George's foreign advisor
is Moscows honour to receive you!
But...
it is very odd,
if you don't mind me saying so,
that you have requested a press visa,
not a diplomatic one.
Why would Lloyd George's foreign advisor
come to Moscow as a journalist?
What, what's this?
A letter of introduction from
my employer, Lloyd George.
Relations between our two countries
has finally normalized.
We have our best engineers here,
Metro Vickers helping you power your factories.
I hope I can speak freely,
friend to friend.
Sure.
It was Lloyd George who
arranged that interview with Hitler,
and it confirmed our worse fears.
I ah.. I came as a journalist so as not to attract
attention from the Germans.
There is... concern in London that... the Soviet Union
would not be able to defend itself should Hitler attack.
Attack?
You read the same papers we do.
You have your agents in Germany.
They're all hearing the same thing, are they not?
If we are to contain Hitler,
we must open two fronts.
Can you hold the Eastern Front?
Mr. Jones...
Metro Vickers may be qualified
to build up our factories,
but they are nothing compared to
the engineers, Soviet engineers.
We have building new planes
and tanks in Kharkov.
- Stalin...
- In Ukraine?
- What?
- In Ukraine?
Yes, Yes, in Ukraine.
In fact!
Mr. Jones, why don't you see for yourself!
I would be happy to arrange a trip for you,
to see just how prepared we are..
for an attack from the Germans!
or the British.
Paul gave me this before he left.
All the information is there,
where he was going.
Wanted me to have it
in case he never made it back.
Want some tea?
How goes the agenda now?
I don't have an agenda.
Unless you call truth, an agenda.
Yes, but whose truth?
- The truth. There is only one kind.
- You're so naive.
Journalism is the noblest profession,
you follow the facts, wherever it leads.
You don't take sides.
My father is in the Foreign Service.
I grew up mostly in Berlin. There's no place
like it, the freedom of art and music and culture
and Nazis destroying everything.
So quickly. And I'm afraid for...
I'm...
I'm afraid for my friends..
They're arresting everyone in the Communist Party.
We have to succeed. We don't have a choice.
You sound like you work for Stalin.
I don't work for Stalin. I believe
in a movement that's bigger than one person.
What if you're wrong?
That's just not another option, is it?
Look there are cycles of history
just like thee are cycles of nature.
There's been nothing but war and depression,
and now... is a chance to rebuild...
their fight for the future, a future for the people,
the weak, the workers - and that's what the Soviets are doing.
Do you believe in the state that put
four bullets in your friend's back?
No...
I believe that this movement
is bigger than any of us.
Paul Klebb was a human sacrifice...
Do you hear yourself?
Tea?
I'll go make us some more tea.
The most magnificent
musical instrument ever invented.
It's so odd.
- Oh, wait...
- That's it...
- And that's the song?
- Yes, that's the song, yeah.
The only song I can play.
My mother didn't bring much back
but this is what she....
Did she teach English in Ukraine?
- Stalino?
- It was Hughesovka back then.
In fact...
Klebb's map takes me,
to where she once lived.
My mother died when I was eleven.
In her sleep.
I think she killed herself.
- If you met my father, you'd understand why.
- Your father still stationed in Berlin?
That town.
That's where I met Paul.
Come with me, Ada.
Come and see where my mother lived.
And find the fondness in your heart.
Ada...
No, don't go.
No, just go.
Go now.
We're in Ukraine.
Oh yeah.
How did you know that?
My mother spent some time here
I ah... I just, ah...
There, comrade is the
answer to all our problems.
It is summed up in a single word... man.
Man is the only real enemy we have.
Remove man from the scene,
and the root cause of hunger,
and rule of work is abolished forever.
Somehow it seemed as though
the farm had grown richer
without making the animals themselves any richer -
except of course... the pigs and dogs.
All animals are equal,
but some animals are more equal than others.
- Six engineers.
- Six?
Are you aware that
London might see this as an act of war?
- What about Washington!
- We don't want any questions.
What do you mean?! No questions?
Mr. Cushny?
Mr. Jones...
I'm surprised, Lloyd George
would risk his foreign advisor.
He didn't.
No?
Are you saying,
we should release you?
What about the engineers?
Should we release them too?
This is what we'll do:
We will send you back to Lloyd George,
but we will keep the other spies.
And when Lloyd George's foreign advisor
returns to England and tells the truth
about what he saw,
your engineers will live.
Mr. Jones...
Did you enjoy your trip to the country-side?
Good.
You saw the happy
and proud farmers?
The remarkable efficiency of
our collective farms?
And any rumours of a famine, are
just that, simply rumours.
What are they?
- Rumours.
- And...?
There is no famine.
And repeat!
There is no famine.
Good.
As you know...
There are those that would
like to see, our revolution fail.
But we won't let that happen.
Will we Mr. Jones?
- No.
- I've arranged your passage home.
We have your suitcase here for you.
Mr. Jones...
I'll have you know,
I convinced them to let you go.
You don't deserve to be in a prison,
for your bravery.
You knew, Mr. Duranty.
You what?
How much is Stalin paying you?
What's keeping you here,
lying for them?
You wouldn't know, the first thing about how
difficult it is to report for Moscow today, would you?
Of course not,
you're just a child.
It is not the job of a journalist to say:
"How dare you sir.
You actually thought, you could interview Stalin
and make some kind of difference didn't you?
A souvenir from my trip.
- Tree bark... It's all the people have left to eat.
- Alright...
You can put it next to your Pulitzer.
My dear Mr. Jones...
There comes a time in every man's life,
when he must choose a course...
greater than himself,
than all his miserable little ambitions
put together.
Perhaps someday you will.
It's a shame!
You would have made a fine journalist.
Well, I guess now, the censors
are gonna be really busy!
Just wait.... a few days.
Ada!
There he is. Jones!
You look great. Good to see you!
I want you to meet my newest published author.
- What do I call you now?
- Eric Blair.
Gareth Jones.
You won't find Blair on the bookshelf.
You have to look for "Orwell.
George Orwell.
After the river.
Thank you.
- I think Mr. Jones needs a drink.
- He doesn't drink.
I think you're my only client, who doesn't.
Then he might actually get some work done.
One of us must.
- We're not a charity Leonard.
- Nonsense!
"Down and Out in Paris and London
will be a sensation.
Leonard tells me, you're working
on a book about the Soviet Union.
Oh, I've... I've been using that line for some time I'm afraid.
I... I do have a story...
but if I tell it, six innocent men will die.
- What men?
- The British engineers.
But if I write the story,
millions of lives may be saved.
I think, ah...
you speak the truth.
Regardless of the consequences it is...
your duty and... it is our right to... to hear you.
It's just common sense isn't it?
The six British citizens
whom I believe are innocent,
are being held as
bargaining chips by Moscow.
If we in the West, fold to this blackmail,
we are, potentially allowing
unprecedented catastrophe.
The Soviet Union is not the
worker's paradise that was promised.
It is not the 'Great Experiment'
you read about in the press.
Stalin has no stunning new achievement.
Unless you consider, killing millions
of innocent people an achievement.
Make no mistake.
If we let him get away
with this man made famine,
there will be others like him...
Thank you very much.
Quite a story.
Maybe The Soviets are
doing the best they can,
making the best decisions they can...
given the circumstances.
What about their free schools?
Free hospitals?
Yes, but at what cost?
A more egalitarian study does exist,
it's just not perfect, we..
We can't expect it to be,
experiments take time to gel.
An egalitarian society...
It's the same system of
exploitation that exists here,
only it's worse.
Unimaginably worse.
- I know what I saw.
- Of course you do...
Of course you do, but...
But one has to put it in the proper context.
Listen to me.
Stalin is not the man, who you think he is.
Are you saying, there's no hope?
Why didn't the New York Times
break the famine story?
Consider the source: Lloyd George's aid comes out with this
now in the middle of all this business with the British engineers.
What are you hearing?
It's all over-blown, hysteria.
- What does London want. Another war?
- You'll get to the bottom of this?
- Of course.
- We need it tomorrow.
Just as that moment,
as though at a signal,
all the sheep burst out,
in tremendous bleating,
"Four legs good, two legs better!
Went on for five minutes without stopping.
By the time the sheep has quieted down,
the chance to utter any protest passed,
for the pigs had marched
back into the farmhouse...
- Mr. Duranty's waiting for me.
He knows, if you ever decide to leave,
they won't let you take them with you.
They'll hold them here.
As ransom.
Along with anything else,
The Kremlin has on you.
I thought you wanted a raise.
- What will you do when the offers come forward?
- There aren't going to be others.
You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.
What's being done here, will transform mankind.
Darling, bring that chair, right here.
Come on.
Aren't you the least bit concerned,
what they'll do to Mr. Jones?
They start believing him?
Fetch that chair, bring it right over here.
Put it right down here.
A bit closer.
In all my time in Moscow...
I have never heard a tale as
preposterous as that of Mr. Jones.
Go on, type!
Certainly, conditions are not ideal, in the Soviet Union,
There are still great challenges,
but Stalin continues his march
toward modernity.
March towards modernity.
You can protect him.
Right.
An exaggeration, of the now notorious...
Gareth Jones, do not portray...
the real modern Russia where Stalin is admired...
and loved.
Signed:
Ada Brooks.
Yeah.
Your passage to the future.
It's an old friend in New York, it's an editor.
The only monsters they have, are bankers.
You have a choice, Ada?
Think of Paul.
I received an urgent phone call
this morning from Mr. Litvinov,
Commissar for Foreign Affairs.
He told me some disturbing things
about your unauthorised trip.
I assured Mr. Litvinov,
that you will retract your statement to the press,
and clear up this matter immediately.
- Or they will shoot our engineers?
- That matter does not concern you.
They are holding them hostage sir.
Blackmailing us from speaking out.
- You broke serious laws in a foreign country!
- You wanted to know the truth as much as I did!
You were released weeks ago from my employ.
You no longer work for me,
or His Majesty's Government.
If you had any sense, you would do as I ask!
Have you seen so many wars that the
murder of innocent people means nothing to you??
How can I retract... the empty villages?
The orphaned children plagued by hunger?
We can still do something sir....
- We can still help.
- Mr. Jones.
- We cannot let Stalin get away with this!
- What do you expect me to do, exactly!?
Break off all ties, when our economy
is already on its knees?
You betrayed my trust,
you betrayed your country.
You will retract your statement publicly.
Without delay!
You've gone too far.
I... I will not be silenced sir.
They're saying, you lied..
They're all saying...
Diplomatic crisis has erupted between the East and the West.
The latest accusation comes from
a young man by the name of Gareth Jones.
It should be noted, that Mr. Jones is
the foreign advisor to David Lloyd George.
The claim from Lloyd George's secretary,
is that a famine plagues The Soviet Union.
I spoke to various experts myself,
and can confirm, the conditions
remain difficult during the five year plan...
- My god.
-... but my readers will be reassured:
that the famine story,
is entirely false.
New York Times.
Duranty debunks our dear Mr. Jones.
It's a shame, he hasn't mentioned
he's Lloyd George's Secretary.
Gareth.
You were cleverer than all of us.
Last place I thought you'd end up.
Thought you'd be
Prime Minister by now.
We've already had one Welsh Prime Minister this century.
Mustnt be greedy.
I am happy to have you here, I am...
Look I promised the publishers to keep you away
from foreign affairs and politics...
But that does leave things like... culture.
Bryn! Gareth Jones, remember him?
He's back! The legend returns!
- Hold on, culture?
- Yes!
Anything to help people to forget the terrible state we're in.
Morning.
I've got you in with me. Hope that's ok?
And we shall be as snug as...
Good morning! Good morning! Good morning!
This just in from Moscow:
The Soviet Union will release the remaining British Engineers and...
- No, no.
- may be able to return home as early as next week.
Kremlin officials in Washington today, have much to celebrate:
After a series of negotiations with the Whitehouse,
the United States has officially recognized The Soviet Union...
- Cheers!
- Cheers!
American business leaders have long welcomed this move,
as a way to expand trade.
With the man credited for
convincing President Roosevelt, is Walter Duranty,
better known to his readers as
"Our Man In Moscow".
The creatures outside looked from pig to man,
and from man to pig,
and from pig to man again;
but already, it was impossible to say, which was which.
That's Gareth Jones.
The man whose mad.
Run! Run!
Gareth!
Are you alright?
Those church ladies
refusing to talk to you are they?
No rush.
You planning on
submitting your article soon?
He's here!
Blimey!
Who's here?
Hearst.
William Randolph Hearst.
He summers near ... St. Donats.
You've been away a long time.
Of course.
Of course! Hearst bought St. Donats.
Where do you think you're going?
- I've got to talk to him.
- Not a word!
Gareth!
Gareth wait!
Gareth!
Gareth, wait!
Every summer we try
to get an interview with Hearst...
and every summer we get denied.
Not this summer.
I'm the assistant editor now!
I have to play my cards carefully, do you understand?
Fine.
- I'll interview him.
- Are you mad?
I can't have you going to St. Donats.
You've gabled with your career.
You're not gambling with mine.
Can I help you?
I work for the Western Mail.
Well, as you can see, we're rather busy.
I just returned from Moscow...
I have a story that will run
on the front of Mr. Hearst's newspapers.
I suggest you talk to his newspapers then.
Didn't you say,
you write for the Western Mail?
Why would you give your story
to Mr. Hearst, a competitor?
Mr. Hearst's papers
have more lawyers.
I'm afraid you're trespassing.
I must ask you to leave.
If you'll just give me one minute, I...
Thank you! Thank you!
I have my bike.
- I, I let myself in through the... kitchen..
- Eres!
Mr. Hearst, believe me,
I have something you want to hear.
Peter!
I have a story of Pulitzer making
a terrible mistake Mr. Hearst.
Let him be!
You have thirty seconds.
I just returned from Moscow.
I took a train south and saw empty village after empty village.
- I have a famine story.
- I saw it with my own eyes, Mr. Hearst.
The world has just lost one of its best reporters,
a man who I know you tried to hire.
Chased Klebb for years...
- Do you think, they killed him?
- You thought so too.
Why did they want Paul dead?
- The same reason they're discrediting me.
- You're certain it was the famine story got him killed?
A journalist who worked with him confirmed it.
Well, if I commission an article from you...
it will be your word against Duranty's Pulitzer.
Yes.
Famine in The Soviet Union!
Dear Gareth,
I am home, in Berlin...
How quickly things fall apart.
I'm writing for Berliner Tageblatt again,
at the moment. Until they shut us down.
I read your article.
You were right:
There is only one truth.
Congratulations, Gareth.
Paul would be so proud.
Wherever you're off to next,
make sure to pack a good bag.
For days at a time,
the animals had nothing to eat but chaff and mangles.
Starvation seems to stare them in the face.
It was likely necessary to
conceal this fact from the outside world.
Emboldened by the collapse of the windmill,
the human beings were inventing fresh lies, about animal farm.