Plan A (2021) Movie Script

1
What if I told you that your
family was murdered?
Just imagine it for a minute...
Your brothers, sisters, parents,
your kids, everyone.
Murdered for no reason at all.
Now ask yourself...
What would you do?
Germany 1945
Mom, there's a man outside.
Get your father...
Go! Now!
Papa, there's a man outside.
Another beggar?
Did he take anything
from the garden?
Max... Is it you?
Good to see you again!
Ruth and Benjamin...
Did they come back?
Anyone?
Why did you give us away?
The house is mine now.
Where did they take them?
Get off my property!
Just because the war is over doesn't
mean we can't kill Jews anymore.
PLAN A
BASED ON TRUE STORY
The dead give you no rest?
But if you are not among them you must
have done something good in your life...
Or something very, very bad.
All dead! Everyone,
but not me... Not Avraham.
Can I tell you a secret?
He's right here. Death!
I've captured death.
I met him in the camp one night.
He was coming for me.
I could hear him breathing
in my ear...
But he had no idea who
he was dealing with.
I flipped over as quickly as I could
and trapped him in this sack.
You can still hear him breathing inside.
And now: nobody can kill me!
Shut up old man!
This used to be our Synagogue.
I got married here.
I had my son's Brith here.
We have to get out
of this damned country.
I heard there's a refugee camp
with many Jews at Tarvisio.
From there they're sent to Palestina,
the land of Israel.
If your family is still alive,
that's where they'll be.
Come with me.
Stop!
Meat!
Avraham!
- Someone is cooking meat!
- Avraham... Wait!
- I told you, I can not die.
- Avraham... Wait!
- Wait.
- They have food.
Avraham...
Avraham...
No!
Please!
It's alright.
You're fine...
We're the Jewish Brigade,
of the British Army.
No one is going to hurt you here.
It's alright.
Hold on! I'll save you!
Soon we'll get to the Tarvisio.
Maybe you'll find news about
your family there.
- Thank you sir.
- It's Michael.
I'm in charge of these savages.
And that clown over there
is in charge of us.
We are from Palestina.
By the time the Brits agreed to send us
here the war was almost over.
These Brits, they like their tea
and like to sleep.
And once they do, we get to do anything
we want right under their noses.
Who did this? Who did this?
Crazy Jews...
Ok guys, come on, let's move fast,
we don't have all day here.
Sir, let me help you...
Listen, sir, the refugee
camp is over there.
Soon you'll be with our brothers
in Palestina, starting a new life.
I need to find my family first. My son
and my wife. Ruth and Benjamin.
Can you help me? Please!
They must be here somewhere...
Maybe we can ask the British soldiers?
Maybe they have a list or something.
There is not much I can do...
I'm sorry.
Good luck.
Max! They have beds here!
Real beds! Look! There in the tent.
I don't believe it!
Back home, we heard rumors
about the death camps
but we didn't believe it to be true.
We should've done something.
We should have helped you.
But we did nothing.
Put your shoes on.
I want him to see this.
Ranks, addresses,
dates, locations...
- Anything?
- Please... I did nothing wrong.
Never killed a man in my life!
You were just a clerk, right?
Filling out forms.
- Yes... yes! Just a clerk.
- Give us the names we need.
- No.
- Ranks, addresses, dates, locations!
No, you will kill me once
you have them.
It's almost dawn.
We need him to verify our sources.
Let's finish this.
Please sir. Have mercy!
I have kids.
How many?
- What?
- Michael, come on!
Ask him about the kids.
Talk to him about his family.
Okay.
Let's do it quietly and calmly.
Do what we ask
and you'll be fine.
Just give us the information we need
and soon, you'll see your family again.
How many kids do you have?
Three, but I haven't seen them
for a long time.
I miss them so much...
What are their names?
Josef Franz, Heinrich, Lise.
She's the youngest?
It's ok, look at me.
You'll be fine.
Untie him.
Menash...
Bernhard Peter...
SS-Sturmscharfhrer.
He's hiding not so far from here,
two buildings from the town center.
Paul Heller.
It's hope.
If you give someone the slightest
feeling of hope...
They will do anything.
Josef Oberleutnant Arnulf Karl
committed suicide last month.
- That is all I know.
- Very well.
Menash...
Wait!
Josef Krauss, we find you guilty
in taking part in participating
in the killings of innocent men,
women and children.
Our brothers and sisters.
I gave you what you ask for.
We hereby sentence you to death.
Sir! You promised!
Thank you.
I wanted you to see
this before you leave.
What are you going to do
with all those names... That list.
There is no list.
Max, there's a convoy
going out tomorrow.
I'll make sure that you're on it.
Where are they?
Just tell me!
My neighbors...
They locked us in the city hall
for three days...
Your Ruth, she was
there with me.
After three days the soldiers
came and took us to the woods.
They forced us to dig.
When we were done, they lined
us up along the ditch...
When they ran out of bullets,
they used their knives.
After they got tired they
just buried us alive.
The last time I saw Ruth she was
hugging Benjamin, protecting him...
I somehow managed to escape
to the woods.
They told me that the next day,
the ground was still moving.
Some of them were still alive,
but after a while, it stopped.
I'm so sorry...
I'm so sorry.
Come on!
Give me your hand.
Let's do it fast!
Let's go!
What are you waiting for?
Come on!
- I can't.
- What?
Listen! This soil is cursed.
Soaked in our blood.
You've got to let go of this place.
Start a new life.
I can't.
Come with me. Please!
Wait.
I will not need it in the promised land.
Never open it or it will take
over your soul.
Always keep it closed.
There you go! Come on...
Let's go! Move back, come on!
Let's hurry...
Everyone on the truck, now.
- Why aren't you on the truck?
- The list... I want to be a part of it.
Listen to me.
Don't talk about that ever again.
Do you want get us
all thrown in jail?
I know these people, these names
on your list, I know how they think...
- I can help you.
- So get on that truck.
- We need you in Palestina. Not here.
- No. I want my revenge.
I deserve it.
Michael, I deserve this!
Everything you're about to see
is under the radar.
- The Brits mustn't know about a thing.
- We have two rules.
One, we never operate when the kids
and family are around.
And two, there must be more than one
source of intel on a suspect.
We're from the British Military Police.
I'm afraid I must ask you to join us.
Menash!
- A burn scar...
- It's a war injury.
Same place as the SS
blood group tattoo...
- What a coincidence...
- You dirty Jew...
We declare you guilty
in taking part
and cooperating in the killings of
innocents. We sentence you to death.
Do you recognize this man?
He was the head
of Block 11 in Majdanek.
Head of the guards of
the Dachau Concentration Camp.
In January '41, you shot two
Jewish families, hiding in the attic.
In the name
of our brothers and sisters.
We hereby sentence you to death.'
- Herr Greiser?
- There's no one here.
Come on. Let's go.
Probably headed to South America
like the rest of his friends.
We need two sources of intel.
This takes time.
- Did you check the barn?
- Yeah. Nothing.
That's how they used to hang
people in the camp.
Leave them hanging like this
until they'd fall apart.
Looks like someone
got here first.
Nakam...
Someone left us a message.
Bruno Langendorf, do you take
responsibility for your actions?
No one is innocent. Not me...
Not you.
Keep digging...
Cigarette?
Max, can I ask you something?
I just want to understand.
There were so many of you
in the ghettos, in the camps...
And how many people
guarded you? 50? 100?
There were thousands of you.
Why didn't you do anything?
All of you, just walking in one long
straight line to your death.
Why didn't you resist?
You see them take your kids,
your family and you just...
do nothing?
- Why didn't you fight back?
- Menash, stop it!
Leave Him alone. It's enough.
Go on! Do it!
Michael No! Stop it, no,
Max, no, stop it, no, not him.
Yes him!
Nothing here.
Max!
You can come out of the woods.
The war is over, you know?
Is it really over?
Can I have my gun back please?
This is wrong! We will not hurt
civilians. Where is your humanity?
Who are these people?
Jewish Revengers.
Led by Abba Kovner.
They call themselves "NAKAM".
The biblical word for vengeance.
Dark, dangerous...
Not like our revenge.
Our brothers...
We might share the same rage,
but not the same path.
I wish you could stand with us.
I just hope you
won't stand against us.
Let's go.
These people are trouble.
Well, we can't go
back looking like this.
Come in.
- I will die. This is ice water...
- What?
I'm a desert man.
- Stop, stop...
- Get in the water, come on!
No, it's cold.
- Hey, You're alright?
- Yes, sure.
Good.
Michael...
Thank you, for letting
me be part of this.
I didn't tell them yet
but the Brits know.
They know that ex-Nazis are
"disappearing" around this area.
So they're sending us all to Belgium.
The whole brigade.
But what about the list?
This is just a drop in a bucket, Max.
We'll never get them all.
So are the mountains of Jerusalem
anything like this?
Well, they're smaller,
but far more beautiful.
And it's the only safe place we have.
So... this is it?
Well, for them it is.
I was drafted to the Haganah.
It's the military organization back home.
The leadership wants me
to stay behind
and take care of all kinds of...
"problems".
Like Abba and his group?
For them everyone
in Germany is guilty.
It's not just about killing
war criminals,
it's about killing German
civilians too.
I can help you, Michael.
These kind of people, they have been
through hell.
They will trust no one.
But they might trust me.
They're planning something big
in Nuremberg,
we just don't know what it is yet.
And we are in a critical state.
The world is in chaos, but there
is a historical opportunity here.
The World might give us a land,
a country of our own.
A safe place where Jews will not be
hunted and persecuted anymore...
Go ahead.
You're part of the Haganah now.
I'll see you in Nuremberg.
Who are you?
Why are you following us?
Who are you working for?
I know him.
He's with the Jewish Brigade.
They sent him to spy on us.
No one sent me. I'm not a soldier!
Look! Look!
Yes, I am sorry,
but... you cannot be here.
- Wait, wait!
- Release him. Release him.
Why did you leave the Brigade?
They moved on, I just can't.
Please, please take a look...
This is a list of SS officers, here,
please take a look.
You are the one that Anna
saved in the woods.
Yeah...
- Is there anything you're good at?
- I can draw.
I was an art student once too.
In another life time.
- I'm afraid you'll have to leave.
- Please... I have nowhere else to go.
- You can spend the night here.
- Thank you.
But you'll have to leave by morning.
Anyone incapable of hard physical
labor should leave now.
Priority will be given to men and women
experienced in water plant work.
No, sorry. Next...
ID?
- Baumann, Paul?
- Yes.
- Previous experience?
- Plumber...
Do you have any other certificate?
I'm a hydraulic engineer,
I worked as a plumber before the war.
- You're lying. Next!
- No, listen.
Give me a chance to explain.
Step back for a second.
I spent the last five years in service
of the Reich,
protecting our race,
keeping it pure...
They might hang me. I need this job.
Please...
- Thank you.
- Next.
Who is this man?
What are you doing here?!
He is placed in the filtration centre.
With access to the main well.
You trust him?
Let him work.
All new recruits follow me.
I'm Willi.
I missed working! Finally
we can go back to normal, right?
The supply of the city needs
to be rebuilt as far as possible.
To provide clean running water
for the city again.
To bring water back
to our great nation.
Move along!
As you can see all over,
we really need your hard work.
Here you're looking at the main turbine
of the filtration center.
The heart of the city.
Once we'll repair it, this heart
will start beating again,
20,000 cubic meters of water
will flow in here every hour.
Here we infiltrate the chlorine to purify
the water from bacteria.
And from here it flows
to the entire city.
I am in.
Good. Very good.
What? What is it?
This is much bigger than
you thought, Michael.
- What are you talking about?
- Much bigger.
Abba has his people everywhere.
They're spreading all over Germany,
forming other cells.
In Hamburg, in Cologne, Munich,
in Berlin and here in Nuremberg.
This revenge is painted on
a much bigger canvas.
- This is madness.
- But for them it's justice.
I need you to find more information.
Gain Abbas trust. He's the key.
If we don't stop them,
if they succeed in their devilish plan,
everything will change. Everything.
The world will look at us differently
and we won't get our country.
Do you understand that?
Max, look at me.
I trust you.
I know.
The nights are always the hardest.
Nothing to keep the demons away.
What are you writing?
"My brothers in ruin.
Gaping hollow of my landscape."
At your doorway the appointed
hour rang.
Your day unimagined.
"For you chose nothing and in nothing,
nothing did you sin..."
We were the first ones that people saw
when they arrived at the camp.
Families...
children...
When I helped them off the train,
I would smile at them.
My work was to collect
their suitcases...
write their names down...
I told them I would bring it back
after they shower.
That way
they walked calmly...
After they went in,
I would go through their luggage...
take any food I could find...
We had food.
That's why they called
us the "Canada" crew.
As if our lives were rich and relaxed...
I had to lie to them to give
them hope.
Even though I knew there was none.
Ever since there's not a single day,
not one moment,
where I don't ask myself...
Why didn't I do anything...
Or why didn't I warn them, tell them
to run. Something, anything...
Never again will we go like
sheep to the slaughter.
It is our time to make sure that the rest
of the world learns the same lesson.
I can help.
Good night, Max.
You trust him?
He shares our pain.
Never again.
Never again.
We all fled the ghetto
at the last minute.
We had to leave our
families behind.
We ran off to the woods.
At night we fought.
During the days we made
plans for our revenge.
Abba came up with Plan A.
We will not wait for the courts
to do their so-called justice.
Look at them.
They saw us expelled from schools,
from our businesses,
from our homes...
they cheered.
They knew about the death camps.
These people are not victims.
They heard our screams.
They murdered our children
and then went home to read bedtime
stories to their own.
It's said that they're going to put some
of them on trial, here in the city.
But the way we see it, the whole German
nation should be on the stand.
Thousand years of pain in our veins.
Never again.
An eye for an eye.
Six million for six million.
Four years of service,
I ate this shit in a can.
And now the war is over
and look at me.
Still eating this pile of shit.
Where were you stationed?
They sent me to the East Front.
To fight against the Russians.
What about you?
Where were you stationed?
Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Goddamn Hitler!
The maps we have now are useless.
I know. I tried, to but he never
takes his eyes of them.
- Anna I win, should we go again?
- No.
I'm bad at this,
you're always winning.
It's your turn.
Why would I want to do it again...
Hey Paul! Easy there...
Hey! Easy!
Come on, come on, stand up...
Come on!
Help me a little bit...
That's good.
What's going on, eh?
Bend down, bend down, yeah,
that's good, come on, on your feet...
Here, it's tea. It has a lot of sugar in
it and you need the energy.
I make this schnapps myself.
Better than tea, don't you think?
Sir!
- What going on?
- The poor guy almost died in my hands.
Take ten more minutes to rest.
Thank you.
We need to fix the west pipe.
Take five men and go down there.
- Paul, you feel better?
- Yes, I'm fine.
What are you doing over there?
A tree...
Look, it's the foremans map.
And this is north.
These are the main lines.
So if we pour the poison right here,
we won't be able to backtrack out
because this is guarded.
Maybe we take a closer look at this area
down the line,
this might be our only
escape route. Here.
Do you think that we can kill millions of
people and get out of it alive?
If the allies won't kill us,
the Haganah will.
- When will the turbine start functioning?
- The progress is slow.
Same for the main pipes.
It all must be ready
before Abba returns.
From where?
Where is Abba now?
He is heading to Palestina.
He wasn't able to get the poison
in Europe.
Our people there will help him.
Belkin!
It's Shabat.
Not for me. Not anymore.
The dreams are getting blurry.
So I have to draw them.
Draw for me. Draw my son.
My Menachem.
He was seven years old.
He had curly hair, big dark eyes...
Rosy cheeks.
He was kind.
Had a very big heart.
He loved listening to music...
and bedtime stories.
Mentally, he was strong, stubborn.
But physically, he wasn't.
We fled the ghetto through
the sewer tunnels.
Crawling for hours in darkness...
It was too much for him.
He couldn't breathe.
It was raining that night and the water
level was higher than we expected.
I tried. He was so weak...
Do you think the pain
will ever go away?
I hope not.
Nobody wants you here!
Go away!
They're starting to come back.
Who?
Jews. They think they can take
everything back now.
Quiet...
It will draw too much attention.
Be patient, they will all get
what they deserve.
Come on, let's hurry,
we're already late.
You all worked hard and we still have
a lot of work to do,
but today, when you get home to your
loved ones, you all can be proud...
From now on running water
will reach every household.
Come on...
The heart of the city is alive again!
Let the water flow.
Come!
The last time I went to see a movie was
years ago... with my parents.
She's so beautiful.
Then denials of surrender
is on its way.
Then the news hits time square
New York and main streets everywhere,
pulls out the stop
and let's celebrate.
Yet from coast to coast victory
gets a spontaneous welcome...
the kissing, the impromptu
entertainment
the biggest noisiest celebration in New
York's history two days of celebrations
before we face the realities of peace
in a world
which contains a new cosmic force:
the atomic bomb.
During the war the Nazis maintained
some 250 concentration camps
and exterminated an estimated 10 Million
civilians and prisoners of war.
Various methods of killing were used.
We need to see this.
The favorite for the Nazis was
extermination in the gas chambers.
More than five million prisoners were
killed in this convenient manner,
usually after starvation and torturing.
But poison gas did not inflict enough
pain for the more blood thirsty Nazis.
Other prisoners were poisoned,
shot or subjected to
bacteriologic experiments.
Anna, look at it. Look at it.
At some camps prisoners
were burned alive,
their ashes made into fertilizers and
their bones sold to the makers of soap.
The Nazi Concentration Camp guards
killed some three million human beings
in one camp alone.
Camp doctors radically admitted that they
had performed sadistic experiments
on hundreds of thousands of prisoners.
Anna.
It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Kovner.
We heard about your arrival.
How may we help you?
I'm looking for a substance.
Something very powerful,
something that has no taste,
and no smell,
and leaves no trace behind.
We are running out of time.
When will they attack?
I don't know.
They keep coming in.
Americans, Brits, Russians, French,
all grabbing a piece of Germany.
Dividing it as if it was a birthday cake.
My friends back home are loosing
their patience.
And I can't hold them
back much longer.
We need to stop these people.
Now. Where is he?
I don't know!
They don't trust me yet!
That's strange!
You seem to be quite close
to the women. Anna?
Germany is not a safe
place for Jews.
It will be a shame if something
terrible happens.
The allies. There are more
and more forces coming into town.
We know. Sit down.
It's from Palestina.
The wedding is delayed.
Abba was supposed to get the poison
in one month. It's been three.
This letter was sent weeks ago.
Maybe he got the poison already.
- Or maybe he's just dead somewhere.
- It's taking too long.
And I'm sure the other cells
are thinking the same.
- We have to be patient.
- There are too many Americans soldiers.
What are you saying?
- She's saying it's too late.
- It's too late to stop now!
The Americans are everywhere,
we cannot poison our allies.
This is war. We always knew there
would be casualties.
"He who passed over the houses"
of the children of Israel,
when he struck down Egypt...
We have to block the pipes
to the allied quarters.
We have to go down to the tunnels.
We'll meet back here in an hour.
Anna!
Anna! Are you alright? Are you alright?
Come on. Follow me.
I can't breathe.
Yes, you can! Come on! Breathe!
Deep breathe!
He is too heavy. He's too heavy.
I cannot hold him. Please help me.
I cannot hold him. I'm so sorry...
I'm sorry Menachem.
Anna... listen to me...
It's not your fault.
There is nothing you could have done...
There is nothing you could have done...
We have to go.
Come with me, we have to go.
Tzvi, help me.
Hold on to me, come on.
What's with her?
She is fine. Too much to drink...
What's the story with you people?
What are you doing in there,
always locked in your attic?
Can you please let us pass?
I could swear I heard Jewish
prayers the other day.
- Let's go. Let's go...
- Don't touch me.
I'm sorry.
I knew it! You are Jews!
What's that?
Abba.
- Did you...
- No, I couldn't...
I was waiting for you.
- What does it say?
- Open up! Open the door.
Open the door.
These are not the neighbors.
Go.
Go, go, go...
Where is he?
You might as well shoot us.
No! Hold on! I'll tell you.
We have a message here.
A letter from Abba.
Max!
Here...
He's in Palestina. Read.
This time I'm going to kill you.
He was trying to get the poison,
but with no success.
No one is willing to help him.
It is over.
I'm sorry, Tzvi.
What you're trying to do
would not stop the hatred,
it will only make it stronger.
We'll never be safe here.
And right now, far from here,
people are working in the fields,
planting trees, building houses.
People are starting families,
having children,
a whole new generation
that knows no fear!
Now that's the real revenge.
As I see it you have two options.
It's either I'm handing you over
to my friends here,
or by tomorrow you
will all leave this city.
What's it gonna be?
- What is this?
- This is the letter from Abba.
I gave him the old one.
"Sweetheart, my beloved
uncle gave me the money."
I was able to get the medication.
I'm on my way back to you,
my love.
Our glorious wedding will take
place as planned...
Now what?
Anna?
You and Belkin have a long way.
You should take the train,
head to the port to meet Abba.
I'll send a telegram to the other cells,
they need to prepare.
Max, you need to stay here,
in case Abba arrives sooner.
- This is it.
- We're about to change history.
Let's finish this.
Yes.
Anna?
What are you doing?
Anna.
Abba is coming soon. The water is
running. Everything is ready.
I'm not.
- I'm leaving.
- Where?
Where we belong.
Anna, what about Menachem?
You owe him justice!
I cannot do this...
Killing children...
No more deaths.
Come with me...
Where are the others?
Tzvi and Belkin went to get you...
Anna... She left.
Do you have it?
We're being followed.
We need to split up. Give me the bag,
I know what to do.
- Are you sure?
- Give me the bag.
Good luck, Max! Go!
Max!
Max, stop! Stop!
Drop it.
Give me the poison, Max.
Max, look at me, it's alright.
Give me the poison.
No... No!
Not a day goes by when I don't think
about what would have happened
if Plan A had been carried out.
I often think about the poison
flowing through the veins of Germany.
Help me stop this.
Illegal passenger,
arrest him immediately.
The British police stopped
the ship just off the coast.
They were looking for Abba.
Hey... hey you!
Stop!
The cells in the other cities broke apart
once they understood Abba wasn't coming.
As for me, I decided to go home.
To have a good life.
That was my revenge.
What if I told you that your family
was murdered.
Just imagine for a minute:
Your brothers,
sister,
parents,
your kids,
everyone.
Murdered.
For no reason at all.
Now ask yourself...
What would you do?