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LOLA (2023)

Posted: 03/22/24 09:23
by bunniefuu
(MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING)

- (INDISTINCT NEWS BROADCASTS)

(STATIC BUZZING)

(MUSIC PLAYS ON BROADCAST)

(CRACKLING AND WHIRRING)

(STATIC HISSING)

(BROADCASTS FADE)

Thom.

Papa used to say

not to be blinded

by your own brilliance...

because you are...

more brilliant

than even you know,

and also more dangerous.

I want to show you how history

can be made and unmade.

How you created

something miraculous.

(PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING)

So, I've gathered

together our story

from whatever scraps of

footage I could find,

in the hope that somehow,

some time, this film

will find you...

and stop you.

I'm going to show you

how to see your future.

(UNSETTLING MUSIC PLAYING)

Radio waves never die.

If we can receive

broadcasts from the past,

surely we can receive

them from the future?

MARS: I'll never

forget that day

we switched her on

for the first time.

(ELECTRICITY BUZZING)

1st October, 1938.

(CRACKLING)

We named her in honour of Mama.

LOLA.

(WHIRRING)

(RUSTLING)

(BUZZES)

(SINGING) Ground

control to Major Tom

It works.

Ground control to Major Tom

We've seen the future.

(CRACKLES)

Take your protein pills

And put your helmet on

This is Ground

Control To Major Tom

MARS: LOLA opened a

magical new world.

1938 went into 1939,

but those dates

meant nothing to us.

We were living in another time.

And we finally had a

reliable source of income.

Remember that car I bought you?

Way too small for those legs.

Ground Control to Major Tom

Your circuit's dead

There's something wrong

Can you hear me, Major Tom?

Can you hear me, Major Tom?

Can you hear me, Major Tom?

Can you hear...

MARS: But LOLA didn't just

show us the world's wonders,

she also showed us its horrors.

The Nazis had torn

through Europe,

Paris had fallen, Dunkirk

had been evacuated,

and now Hitler had set

his sights on Britain.

The Blitz would claim

thousands of lives

over the coming months.

LOLA could no

longer be just ours.

The world needed her.

(STATIC BUZZING)

NEWSREADER: (ON LOLA) They

burst out of the clouds

at less than 2,000 feet

and dropped their deadly cargo

on the Isle of Dogs before...

- (BUTTON CLICKS)

- (STATIC HISSING)

This is an urgent warning,

1:35 a.m. Hackney

and 1:45 Islington.

Due to thick cloud,

there will be no warning

from the authorities for

any of these att*cks.

Please make yourselves safe.

(SIGHS)

3rd May, 1941,

21st furrow for the

Angel of Portobello.

(CLAPS)

(CHEERFUL MUSIC PLAYING)

MAN: It has become a

nightly occurrence.

After sundown, German

bombers cross the Channel

with their deadly cargo.

No one knows where they

will target or when.

(expl*si*n)

No one, that is, but

their German commanders

and one mystery

woman in England,

nicknamed the

Angel of Portobello

by those residents

of West London

whose lives have been

among the first saved

by her warnings.

(PLAYING GENTLE MUSIC)

(RADIO FEEDBACK)

THOM: (ON SPEAKER)

Warning, 1:35 a.m. Hackney

and 1:45 Islington, repeat,

1:35 a.m. Hackney

and 1:45 Islington.

Due to thick cloud,

there will be no warning

from the authorities for

any of these att*cks.

Please make yourselves safe.

REPORTER: While the warnings

didn't stop the bombings,

they did once again

save dozens of lives.

Last night, at

about half past 12,

we heard the Angel

of Portobello.

We were in a dugout and,

er, thanks to the...

thanks to the Angel

of Portobello,

we are quite safe.

Thanks to the Angel

of Portobello,

my family is all right, but

our house got clobbered.

(CAMERA RUSTLING)

(LOLA WHIRRING)

(WHEN, WHEN, WHEN

PLAYING ON LOLA)

MARS: Oh, God. No,

Thom, not this one.

She has nothing to say

about life or freedom.

Well, we can't get it anyway.

But you are wrong, Mars,

the sentiment is

tediously accurate.

People would rather

buy into fatalism

- than own their own destiny.

- MARS: Hmm.

Don't people just want to know

that everything is

going to be all right?

(CHUCKLES) Come

dance with me, Mars.

MARS: I'm not dancing to this.

(SONG CONTINUES) I

really miss you, honey

When, when...

MARS: Here.

- (ELECTRICITY BUZZING)

- (MARS GIGGLES)

MAN: (ON LOLA) Preparation

of food supplements.

(BUZZING)

NEWSREADER: Perplexed

officials say

that the source of the Angel's

signal remains a mystery,

and the army has been

unable to identify

the mysterious lady broadcaster.

- Normally, we locate...

- MARS: Oh!

A pirate radio within 15

minutes of broadcasting.

You get a signal search

when pointing in the

direction of the source.

Whereas here, the signal is

coming from all around us.

It's like we're sitting

on top of the antenna.

It's extraordinary.

We'd like the people behind this

to stop their game

now and come forward.

We are at w*r.

NEWSREADER: Our intrepid

officers continue their search

for the Angel of Portobello,

documenting as they go.

THOM: Well, they're never

gonna catch us, anyway.

MARS: No, of course not.

You're much too clever.

(CHUCKLES)

SEBASTIAN: Log of Lieutenant

Sebastian Holloway,

1st June, '41.

I finally traced the signal

source to Shoreham Gasworks.

The Angel of Portobello

is using the gasometer

as a natural transmitter.

The metal

superstructure magnifies

her weak radio signal and

sends it through the mains

into London's pipe networks

which acts as her very

own personal antenna.

It explains why her broadcasts

are omnidirectional in London.

They were coming from

the entire gas grid,

very clever.

2:15, spot what I assume to

be the Angel of Portobello.

Young woman, curly

blonde hair, on bicycle.

2:25, she climbs

the main gasometer.

She spends about 15

minutes making adjustments

to what turns out to be a

battery-operated transmitter

and the signal source.

2:45, she spots me

and Lance Corporal Clark,

who's filming. She flees.

Cycles west toward the coast.

Very few houses on

this stretch of land.

Terrible roads.

She nearly escapes,

but even she finds the

conditions difficult,

and we manage to cut her off.

She denies

everything, of course.

Says she uses the gasometer

for bird watching.

Is extremely rude.

Has no papers.

But does possess radio

transmitting equipment,

plus a map of all the

gasometers in England.

When I ask her to

identify herself,

she makes up some

obviously bogus names.

Eartha Kitt, Maria von

Trapp, Lady Stardust.

Actual name, Martha Hanbury.

After some gentle persuasion,

she finally acquiesces

and agrees to escort

us to her house.

Strange old place,

quite run-down.

Her sister, Thomasina Hanbury,

emerges and is even ruder.

Threatens to do

damage to my privates,

but relents when I suggest

returning with a search warrant.

3:15 p.m., I get my first

look at their machine

which they call LOLA.

It's going to change history.

(CAMERA RUSTLING)

THOM: Come on, then.

You've got 10 minutes,

in and out.

This is... magnificent.

It's beautiful.

(FEEDBACK ECHOES)

How do you...

How does it work?

Why aren't you doing more

to stop people from dying?

Better you tell us how

you predict the future.

We know you do.

Mars, what in God's

earth did you say to him?

That you can catch radio

and television broadcasts

from the future.

I had to tell him. He said we

could be hanged as spies...

- Don't touch it!

- (FEEDBACK ECHOES)

How did you find us?

I was just lucky.

I couldn't understand how

the signal was so dispersed.

But I noticed it was stronger

in houses with piped gas.

Using the copper

piped gas network

as an antenna, that's genius.

I want to help.

(CAMERA WHIRRING)

MARS: You weren't

so easily convinced.

(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)

All right, darling?

Do you have to film

us in the bath?

MARS: Wash your face.

- (GROANS)

- You look a mess.

I hate anyone coming here.

He's pushy and cocky

and there are negative

consequences to those defects.

MARS: Well, he could

have had us arrested.

I don't think he wants

to lord it over us.

- Give me the camera.

- MARS: Mm.

(SOFTLY) Give me the camera.

Here's my prognosis.

You, in all probability,

are going to make him

fall in love with you

and then you'll leave with him

- and create jolly offspring.

- (CHUCKLES)

But who's to say I

would love him back?

No, if he falls under my spell,

then we can make him do

exactly what we want.

(GASPS) We can make him

muck out Scarborough.

THOM: True. Don't

be too charming,

I don't think you

know when to stop.

He might like you more.

THOM: Oh, my

clitoris and I do not

- need extra company.

- (CHUCKLES)

(CAMERA RUSTLES)

Well, good morning.

This is Major Cobcroft.

He has authorised

my presence here.

Where do you want us?

I have realised you were

at Cheltenham last year.

Twenty-three wins in a row.

(GRUNTS, EXHALES)

(HORSE SNORTING)

Hello.

Is someone gonna say hello?

MARS: Hello.

Holloway, is this a joke?

Er, Major Cobcroft has

kindly provided you

with some special provisions.

There's tea and

coffee, ham and cheese,

- fancy canned content.

- (HORSE SNORTS)

Friends in high places.

You are most kind.

But my sister will tell

you, for me eating is merely

a distraction, and if you

imagine we would cook for you,

we are not your women.

I think we need to re-establish

who's in charge here.

(LOLA WHIRRING)

MAN 1: (ON LOLA) As the

troops went into Smithfield,

- the porter...

- SEBASTIAN: They've just been

working off material like this.

Future news bulletins.

Can you imagine what

they could achieve

using intel from military radio?

And if they coordinated

the information with us.

No.

(LOLA CRACKLING, BUZZING)

MAN 2: (ON LOLA) What

happens when the human body

is rocketed into space?

A foretaste of the fantastic

ordeal which awaits

the first man to the Moon.

It reminds me of

going home on a bus.

- (CHANNEL SWITCHES)

- COBCROFT: Christ.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER

FROM BROADCASTS)

(ROCK 'N' ROLL MUSIC

PLAYING ON LOLA)

Who on earth are those

diabolical creatures?

Show's over.

COBCROFT: They're con artists.

They're projecting B

movies onto that screen.

SEBASTIAN: How do you

explain their predictions?

COBCROFT: They got lucky.

SEBASTIAN: Just

give me one go, sir.

Let them tune into military

radio under my supervision.

COBCROFT: This is

highly irregular.

SEBASTIAN: I bet a

magnum of champagne

we can make a correct

prediction with that machine.

COBCROFT: All right.

But we keep this between us.

It backfires, I know

nothing, you understand?

SEBASTIAN: Yes, of course.

Why are you filming me?

MARS: You, I'm

keeping an eye on.

God, you don't miss

anything, do you?

Is that thing

recording sound too?

How does it do

that? It's titchy.

MARS: Everything goes onto

the same piece of film.

I use the space between

the sprocket holes

for the soundwave.

You invented this.

MARS: Thom made it for me.

She should patent it.

MARS: Oh, no, no, no, no!

No, that's my dark room.

Out. Shut the door.

- Shut the door.

- Where's your refrigerator?

MARS: We have a pantry.

Erm... It's pretty draughty,

so it's chilly in there.

Well, that's good.

(CHUCKLES) And very in

keeping with the w*r effort.

MARS: So, Sebastian, are

you handy in the kitchen?

(MID-TEMPO ELECTRONIC

MUSIC PLAYING)

THOM: Here are the

rules of the game.

Each morning, I use LOLA to

tune into tomorrow's report

from the Royal

Signaller's Station.

That way, we will have

advanced knowledge

of all enemy att*cks.

Sebastian's job

is to cross-check

the sign-off codes, so we know

the radio report is authentic.

He sends the

intelligence to Cobcroft,

who puts the

information into action.

Mars continues to document

this for prosperity.

And Sebastian needs to stock

us up with better food,

more wine and a pile

more cigarettes.

MARS: Operation Chrono,

11th August, 1941.

8:00 a.m. at 323 Hertz.

MARS: It was

vital that we find

the right piece of intel.

Anything too big would risk

- giving the game away.

- (INDISTINCT BROADCAST)

But something too small

might not be enough

to impress Cobcroft.

We listened to

dozens of reports.

Problems impossible to fix.

We weren't finding

what we needed.

- (BROADCAST STOPS)

- And let's not forget

that you hated

working in a team.

It looked as though our

trial was a failure.

And then...

MAN: (ON LOLA) Morning

report, August 12th.

Richmond RAF base destroyed.

Enemy att*cked from

south-easterly bearing.

Cairo, Alpha, Foxtrot,

9, Bravo. Over.

THOM: Okay, that's the one.

Sebastian, check the code.

That's the correct

sign-off code, sir.

COBCROFT: (ON

SPEAKER) Very well.

I'll warn Richmond

anti-air defence.

We could end the w*r

with this machine.

Ever thought of that?

THOM: (CHUCKLES) You are

a prick. Of course I have.

See how you get on

with that intel.

SEBASTIAN: Sorry.

The enemy can't think we

know everything it's doing.

Papa said to never underestimate

the cunning of the desperate.

MARS: He actually said

to never underestimate

the v*olence of

the power hungry.

And also, actually, we didn't

have military intelligence.

Well, also, actually

Papa was anti-w*r

and not only against

taking lives but...

SEBASTIAN: So am I.

(SCOFFS SOFTLY)

For all I know,

you could be a spy

with access to British

military secrets.

Now, Mars says I

should trust you,

so don't f*ck it

up by acting cocky.

I'm hungry.

He's invading my creative space.

MARS: I wish he'd invade mine.

You are such a tarting flirt.

MARS: (CHUCKLING) A flirting

tart, don't you mean?

THOM: Er... Oh.

(MARS LAUGHING)

Oh.

MARS: Well, I think

he's the best thing

that's happened to us

since we won enough money

to feed ourselves.

THOM: Well, I will

make it happen

and he will sit there and watch,

and if he gloats,

I will punch him.

(SILENT NIGHT, HOLY

NIGHT PLAYING ON PIANO)

MARS: All that was left

for us to do was wait

until the morning to see

if our plan had worked.

That night, we waited...

- (INDISTINCT BROADCAST)

- and waited...

and waited.

Until...

MAN: (ON SPEAKER) Last

night, the military scored

a major victory against the

Luftwaffe by sh**ting down

an entire German bomber squadron

over a Richmond RAF base.

This is a great victory for...

(BOTH SNIGGERING)

Oh, God. God, I'm

good. (GRUNTS)

(LAUGHING)

(THOM AND MARS SQUEAL, LAUGH)

MARS: Success.

Our intel had

painted a bull's-eye

over every German

bomber that night.

- (MEN SHOUTING)

- (BOMBS EXPLODING)

The anti-aircraft gunners

took care of the rest.

Our plan had worked.

Wait, wait, wait.

Wait, hold them up.

Hold them up, let me see them.

(GASPS) Oh, you

bake. How cool.

Yeah, I'm afraid the

oven wasn't very hot.

MARS: No, I mean

cool as in groovy.

Groovy? (CHUCKLES)

Is that an adjective?

- (MARS CHUCKLES)

- (TELEPHONE RINGS)

Major.

COBCROFT: Bloody hell,

Holloway. Outstanding.

We should make Miss

Hanbury an Honorary Major.

Open your dispatch bag, the

ladies earned it, not you.

Thank you, sir.

- MARS: Major Thom.

- Very funny.

- (CHUCKLES)

- SEBASTIAN: Oh, very nice.

Oh! Thank you. I think

he said for the ladies.

MARS: Unless you'd like

to join us for a drink.

(UPBEAT ELECTRONIC

MUSIC PLAYING)

MARS: You were brilliant.

You changed the

course of the w*r.

Cities that would have

been bombed were saved.

People who wouldn't

have been alive

were walking the streets.

(IMPERCEPTIBLE)

(UPBEAT ELECTRONIC

MUSIC CONTINUES)

CHURCHILL: We may

allow ourselves

a brief period of rejoicing.

Advance, Britannia.

Long live the cause of freedom.

(UPBEAT ELECTRONIC

MUSIC CONTINUES)

(PIANO PLAYING ALONG

TO UPBEAT MUSIC)

MARS: Sebastian

was in awe of LOLA

and, it seemed, a

little in love with me.

(MUSIC STOPS)

Stop filming me, I'm peeing!

SEBASTIAN: Girls

don't pee standing up.

No, Mama always peed like this.

She said it's much

healthier to get the urine

as far away from one's

vag*na as possible.

- SEBASTIAN: How interesting.

- Hmm.

SEBASTIAN: My mother

made me pee sitting down

to avoid the seat

up/down conundrum.

I think it's really because

she wanted another girl.

MARS: (CHUCKLES) Well,

gender divide is an

artificial construct.

You know, that

was a Papa saying.

(SOFT PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)

(WHISPERING) I

said, stop filming!

(MARS GRUNTS)

(CHUCKLES)

SEBASTIAN: Why do

you film everything?

Well, because we're alone.

SEBASTIAN: And

why are you alone?

MARS: Mm...

Oh, Papa was conscripted.

He lasted two weeks.

- (OBJECT CLATTERS)

- (BOTH CHUCKLE)

He lasted two weeks

at the front and...

"Fighting for peace is like

screwing for virginity."

Or that's what he would have

said if he had lived longer.

SEBASTIAN: Gosh. Right.

- So who did...

- Hmm?

- Oh, I can't remember.

- (BOTH CHUCKLE)

Some dude from the 1960s.

SEBASTIAN: Oh, it's

quite disconcerting

that for you two, history goes

forwards as well as backwards.

- (CHUCKLES)

- Mm.

Now, Mama said Papa was k*lled

at the altar of w*r worship.

She fired all the help,

she stopped sending us to school

and she... (SIGHS)

went to her room and

listened to records.

And then she started

going for very long walks.

And then one day, they found her

stuck between two rocks,

halfway down a crag

that plummets into

the nearby cove.

SEBASTIAN: Saving people

for the ones we lost.

(SOFT PIANO MUSIC CONTINUES)

(MUSIC STOPS)

(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING FAINTLY)

MARS: I was enjoying

my new-found company

while you were busy

defending the country.

Not that you were getting

the credit, of course.

(MILITARY MARCH MUSIC PLAYING)

(JOYFUL MUSIC PLAYING)

(ENGINE WHINING)

(IMPERCEPTIBLE)

It's an honour to have been

made a Knight Commander

of the Order of the Bath.

I am proud of the work I've done

in turning the tide of

w*r against Adolf Hitler.

But this evening isn't

all about my achievements,

it's about you,

my fellow officers of

the Intelligence Corps,

who've helped me to put

an end to the Blitz.

This is only just the beginning.

By God, we are good.

(MELLOW JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING)

(IMPERCEPTIBLE)

(MUSIC CONCLUDES)

(APPLAUSE)

(MIC FEEDBACK)

This is one of our favourites,

you won't be hearing

it again for some time.

(DISCORDANT NOTES

PLAYING ON PIANO)

(PLAYING RAPID

ASCENDING NOTES)

Thom, that's, erm...

(PLAYING YOU REALLY

GOT ME BY THE KINKS)

(SINGING) Girl You

really got me goin'

You got me now I don't

know What I'm doin' now

- (RHYTHMIC CLAPPING)

- Yeah, you really got me now

You got me So I

can't sleep at night

Yeah, you really got me now

You got me so I don't

know What I'm doin' now

Oh, yeah You really got me now

You got me So I

can't sleep at night

You really got me

You really got me

You really got me

(JAZZ BAND JOINS IN)

(CROWD CHEERING)

See, don't ever set me free

I always wanna be by your side

Girl, you really got me now

You've got me So I

can't sleep at night

Yeah, you really got me now

You've got me so I don't

know What I'm doin' now

Oh, yeah You really got me now

You got me So I

can't sleep at night

You really got me

You really got me

You really got me

Yeah! Whoo! Yeah!

(JAZZ BAND CONTINUES

PLAYING YOU REALLY GOT ME)

(JAZZ RENDITION OF YOU

REALLY GOT ME CONTINUES)

(CLAPS ALONG TO MUSIC)

(SONG ENDING)

(CROWD CHEERING

AND APPLAUDING)

(CAMERA RUSTLING)

No!

My camera.

So, LOLA is so much

more than a w*r fighter.

This is the true magic.

Erm...

Movies, documentaries.

Newsreels.

Play-outs from LOLA.

- SEBASTIAN: Oh, my God.

- (CHUCKLES)

(SEBASTIAN CHUCKLES)

Is this our future?

MARS: Well, this is the

future I'm interested in.

Mama always said that art was

the weathervane of the soul.

Now, see that wall over here?

There, or over

there. (CHUCKLES)

That wall is our past.

She captured every waking moment

with such attention to detail.

SEBASTIAN: Oh, is that you?

- MARS: (SQUEALS) Maybe, yeah.

- (SEBASTIAN CHUCKLES)

SEBASTIAN: No, I want to look.

No, our children are

going to love this.

At last, a musical rebellion

against the stuffed

shirts that run the world.

- (CHUCKLES)

- SEBASTIAN: Our children?

(MARS CHUCKLES)

And who is this chap?

MARS: (CHUCKLES) Bob Dylan.

He's one of my

all-time favourites.

He speaks of freedom

and heartbreak,

of a nation lost,

and of the joy and pain

of the authentic soul.

SEBASTIAN: Like you.

Come here.

(SEBASTIAN CHUCKLES)

(STATIC CRACKLING)

MARS: Come on.

SEBASTIAN: What?

MARS: Not a word to Thom.

- Promise?

- Promise.

MARS: Right, go over there

to that panel back there,

over there to the left.

See the switches

in the middle row?

- Yeah.

- MARS: Third one in. Flick it.

- (WHIRRING)

- Yes!

Now over to the other side.

Other side, quickly.

And the three silver ones.

- Flick them up.

- Yeah.

MARS: One, two, three. Yes.

We're going to

need a power surge

where we're going.

Oh, that's far out.

Far out of where?

MARS: Now, tune it

to 133 kilohertz.

(BUZZING)

9:03 p.m.,

8th March,

Christ, this thing can see

30 years into the future.

MARS: Not just major

broadcasts, royal weddings,

signals beamed around the world.

The diamonds, though,

are the hit songs.

SINGER: (SINGING) The

sound of marching feet

In the street below

(SEBASTIAN CHUCKLES)

MARS: No, you've

the wrong time.

You... You said

9:03, 8th March...

MARS: 1973.

Let me see.

(SONG CONTINUES) Polish

up your jackboots

Learn to march in time

And fall into line

The sound of marching feet

(STATIC BUZZES)

MAN: (ON LOLA) And

cracking the chart barrier

at number one for the

10th week running,

Reginald Watson's The

Sound of Marching Feet.

It looks like Watson will

be making musical history

as his new hit, Meet

Me at the Gallows,

has just crashed number two.

(MEET ME AT THE GALLOWS BY

REGINALD WATSON PLAYING)

(BREATHES HEAVILY)

I don't understand.

Thom! Thom!

What are you doing?

MARS: He's not there.

SEBASTIAN: Who?

David Bowie.

SEBASTIAN: Who's David Bowie?

MARS: He's gone. Bowie's gone.

Thirty years is

a long time away,

the adjustment of variables

could lead to a new

set of consequences.

MARS: But we've tuned into

him hundreds of times,

why is it suddenly changed?

Mars,

thanks to us, a lot of people

are alive who would be dead.

It also means we

might have erased him.

MARS: No, you can't

k*ll David Bowie.

Maybe he lives but will

have a different childhood

and become a dentist.

MARS: That is a very severe

negative consequence.

THOM: Mars, negativity is

not emotionally quantifiable.

There will be someone else

as extraordinary as Bowie.

No, there's Reginald

f*cking Watson!

THOM: We are trying

to end the w*r.

You knew this could happen?

(MEET ME AT THE GALLOWS

CONTINUES PLAYING)

I'm not sure it's

moral to erase lives.

What happens to people

whose worlds we erased?

Or is it moral to save lives?

I mean, hypothetically you

can make love with someone

and create life, by

choosing not to do that,

are you erasing potential life?

Fix this Watson car

crash and get Bowie back!

Sometimes you have

to make sacrifices

for the greater good.

(WHIRRING)

MARS: We'd erased

all my heroes.

Bob Dylan. Nina Simone.

David Bowie. Stanley Kubrick.

Now, they were but

memories on my Moviola.

LOLA was profoundly changing

the course of the w*r.

But we had no way of predicting

how we were meddling

with the future.

What else had we sacrificed?

(FEEDBACK CRACKLES)

COBCROFT: (ON SPEAKER)

Morning, Miss Hanbury.

We've updated the

signature codes.

They'll be in

Holloway's dispatch bag.

THOM: (ON SPEAKER) Why

haven't you managed to hit

any of the U-boat fleet?

I've given you

first-class intel.

COBCROFT: They're

bloody elusive.

Even when we know which

ship they're going to sink,

locating the U-boat's

attack point is impossible.

Trying to spot a sub 50

feet below the Atlantic

is like trying to find

a hymen in a whorehouse.

THOM: So, you need to wait for

them to rise to the surface.

COBCROFT: By which stage,

the subs are in attack mode.

Do that and you risk our ships.

THOM: Do nothing and

the sub will live

to attack another day.

We have to lull them in.

Let them surface and fire,

that way your fighter planes

are sure to spot them.

COBCROFT: Christ.

You're suggesting we

sacrifice a civilian ship.

THOM: A pawn for a queen.

(FEEDBACK CRACKLES)

(GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC PLAYING)

SEBASTIAN: We should go back.

Mm... No. She can do the

next broadcast alone.

You and I are otherwise engaged.

(MARS CHUCKLES)

MAN: (ON RADIO) The w*r

office has just announced

that the RAF has

destroyed the entire

- German U-boat fleet...

- MARS: Oh, my God.

- In the Atlantic Ocean.

- MARS: Sebastian!

- This marks a huge...

- (MARS LAUGHS)

turning point in the w*r

against n*zi Germany.

Mr Churchill will

address the nation

on this major development.

MAN 2: This is the moment

when the RAF achieved

what many said was impossible.

The annihilation of

the n*zi U-boat fleet.

But this stunning victory

wasn't without cost.

Tragically, our

forces were unable

to save the American civilian

liner, SS Abraham Lincoln.

Two thousand souls

lost their lives.

MARS: (PANTS) Thom! Thom!

SEBASTIAN: Thom,

you're incredible.

Champagne for Boudicca!

MARS: Darling, are you okay?

SEBASTIAN: Did you enact

the battle right here?

MARS: What happened?

We received a report

of the Abraham Lincoln

being att*cked by a

flotilla of U-boats

and once the attack started,

Cobcroft had the subs

bombed from the air.

SEBASTIAN: Hang on.

You allowed the attack to start?

Thom, they sunk the

Abraham Lincoln.

We needed bait to get

the U-boats to rise.

SEBASTIAN: How many

people were on that liner?

Well, army man, it's

the semiotics of combat.

Those U-boats wiped out

40 liners last month.

Now, we're going to

destroy the Kriegsmarine

and then we'll go

after their air force.

SEBASTIAN: Let's

get the shutters.

(LOLA WHIRS)

(RADIO FEEDBACK)

MAN 1: (ON LOLA) Over

2,000 people died...

- THOM: How did you do that?

- On the American liner.

MAN 1: President Roosevelt

is demanding to know

why Britain didn't deploy

its celebrated

early warning system

- to protect the vessel.

- THOM: Mars.

(STATIC BUZZES)

Did you show him

how to work LOLA?

(TRIUMPHANT MUSIC

PLAYING ON LOLA)

MAN 2: (ON LOLA) Churchill's

hopes of persuading

the United States of America

to abandon its neutrality

have been dashed.

Preliminary investigations

have found that the British

deliberately allowed the

Abraham Lincoln to be sunk

as a means to entice

the German U-boat fleet

- to the surface.

- (BROADCAST STOPS)

SEBASTIAN: What have you done?

What have you been doing?

You are a child.

A lustful, suggestible child.

The pair of you.

- MARS: Thom, I...

- Get out.

MARS: I shouldn't have...

- Thom, I'm...

- Get out!

(CAMERA RUSTLING)

(RADETZKY MARCH, OP. 228 BY

JOHANN STRAUSS SR. PLAYING)

NEWSREADER: Anger spilled

onto the streets today

when State Department

investigators made

the sensational discovery

that Britain had prior knowledge

of the attack on

the Abraham Lincoln.

According to the investigators,

British fighter pilots

circled overhead and looked on

as dozens of n*zi subs

att*cked the defenceless liner.

Within minutes,

the doomed vessel

lay at the bottom

of the Atlantic

along with 2,000 men,

women and children.

President Roosevelt

said it was clear

that the British had

sacrificed the liner

to draw the U-boats

to the surface.

He immediately recalled

Ambassador Joseph

Kennedy from London.

I leave England at this

time with real regret.

NEWSREADER: But England

remains defiant.

Churchill strenuously

rejected the allegations

and proclaimed that Britain

shall prevail without the aid

of the United States of America.

(CAMERA RUSTLING)

(INDISTINCT BROADCAST PLAYING)

Thom, come on, open up.

(LOLA BUZZING RHYTHMICALLY)

(INDISTINCT BROADCASPLAYING ON LOLA)

(OBJECTS CLATTERING)

She's mad.

f*cking mad.

MARS: LOLA had just received

the perfect piece of intel.

It was irresistible.

MAN: (ON LOLA) This

is Southampton.

We are under sustained attack,

six German destroyers...

MARS: You had Cobcroft deploy

the entire navy to intercept

an all-out German

attack on Southampton.

This intel could wipe

out the German navy.

SEBASTIAN: This is

f*cking pathetic.

It's petty. Come on, open up.

MARS: But it was

too good to be true.

THOM: I need your help.

(FEEDBACK ECHOES)

COBCROFT: (ON SPEAKER) What

the hell have you done?

The Kriegsmarine is three

miles off the coast of Dover,

our entire fleet is 100

miles away in Southampton.

The Kriegsmarine

should have arrived

at Southampton one minute ago.

Did you check the

signature code?

Can you replay it?

(REWINDING)

(EXPLOSIONS ON LOLA)

MAN 1: (ON LOLA)

This is Southampton.

We are under sustained

attack, six German destroyers

supported by a heavy

air bombardment. Over.

SEBASTIAN: There's

no signature code.

THOM: It was a bogus signal,

there was never an

attack on Southampton.

The Germans know

we've got something.

They must have sent that signal.

Oldest trick in the

book. (BREATHING HEAVILY)

COBCROFT: You've left

us completely exposed.

You f*cking b*tch.

You've f*cked me.

(CONNECTION ENDS)

(WHIRRING)

MAN: (ON LOLA) Authorities

are not revealing

the extent of the attack,

except to say that

the coast around Dover

is now under German occupation.

- THOM: No, no, no, no, no.

- (CLICKING)

MAN 2: (ON SPEAKER) Hello?

There is going to be

an attack at Hastings.

- MAN 2: Who is this?

- Cobcroft?

MAN 2: Major Henry

Cobcroft is unavailable.

No, I need to speak to him

now. Where the f*ck is he?

This is Lieutenant Holloway.

I report directly

to Major Cobcroft.

I need him on the

line immediately.

MAN 2: Major Cobcroft

is not available.

Then you... Go get him,

we're being invaded!

- MARS: Where are you going?

- To...

warn the army.

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

- MARS: Hold on.

- Look, I'll be right back.

And... try and connect

to someone on intel.

(DIALLING TELEPHONE)

to move defences away from...

(LINE DISCONNECTS)

MARS: Can we undo this?

(SLAMS RECEIVER)

(YELLS) Can I unbreak

that telephone?

(OBJECTS RATTLING)

(ROAR OF AIRCRAFT ENGINES)

MARS: What the

hell had we done?

(DRAMATIC CLASSICAL

MUSIC PLAYING)

NEWSREADER: Early

this morning,

catastrophe struck Britain.

German forces breached

coastal defences

following a major

intelligence blunder.

Commanding officers

had diverted the RAF

and the Royal Navy to

Southampton, leaving Dover

and the Southeast of

England gravely exposed.

The enemy launched a

full-scale invasion,

landing effectively unopposed.

Town after town fell to

the merciless attackers.

Christening the

invasion Black Sunday,

the Prime Minister issued

a full call to arms.

CHURCHILL: The Battle of

Britain is about to begin.

On this battle depends

the survival of

Christian civilisation.

If we fail,

then the whole world will sink

into the abyss of

a new Dark Age.

NEWSREADER: With the

Nazis advancing inland,

Head of Army Intelligence,

Major Sir Henry Cobcroft,

was summoned to explain

the disastrous breach

in Britain's defences.

Major Cobcroft said that

after an investigation,

he had discovered that

two n*zi double agents

had infiltrated his department.

COBCROFT: Lieutenant

Holloway and I

were receiving intelligence

from two agents,

Thomasina and Martha Hanbury.

They were double-crossing us.

Taking orders from Berlin.

Their maliciously false intel

resulted in this

country being invaded.

These loathsome

creatures will be found

and hanged for treason.

MARS: What do we do?

NEWSREADER: On

bidding farewell

to the King, who was

evacuated to Canada,

Mr Churchill

addressed the nation.

CHURCHILL: Despite the

traitresses in our midst...

MARS: Shit!

The n*zi forces

shall not prevail

in their attempts to

break the spirit of...

MARS: Thom, we

have to leave now.

THOM: I'm not leaving LOLA.

MARS: For God's sake, Thom,

what are you going to

do, put it in a suitcase?

THOM: I'm staying. I

can still fight this,

tell the army what the

Germans are going to do next.

MARS: Never mind the Germans,

it's Cobcroft that's

going to hang us.

THOM: Then get your boyfriend

to tell them the truth.

MARS: What?

THOM: He's left you, Mars.

He's saving his own skin.

MARS: Horseshit.

He would have saved

you from yourself

if you'd let him

check the codes.

THOM: He was too busy

bonking you in the woods.

MARS: You locked us out.

THOM: You were

compromising my work

with your sentimentality.

MARS: I'd rather be

sentimental than psychotic.

THOM: You are mawkish

and weak, just like Mama.

- (VEHICLE APPROACHING)

- MARS: And you're every bit

as selfish as she was.

THOM: Shit.

(VEHICLE DOORS CLOSE)

Mars, let's just go.

(BANGING ON DOOR)

(MARS BREATHING HEAVILY)

(DOOR CRASHES OPEN)

(SOLEMN CHORAL MUSIC PLAYING)

(IMPERCEPTIBLE)

(IMPERCEPTIBLE)

(SOLEMN CHORAL

MUSIC CONTINUES)

(expl*si*n)

(CLAMOURING)

(SOLEMN CHORAL

MUSIC CONTINUES)

(SOLEMN CHORAL

MUSIC CONTINUES)

(MUSIC ENDING)

(SOMBRE PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)

(CAR DOOR OPENS)

SEBASTIAN: (WHISPERING)

For f*ck's sake.

Pigs.

Stop. Put the camera down.

Mars, put it down.

If they ask us, we're farmers.

(GERMAN ACCENT)

Where are you going?

Home. We live just

down the coast.

Papers.

They're at home.

If you allow us through,

I can get them for you.

You will have to turn back.

MARS: Please, we're

looking for my sister.

(SOLDIER SPEAKING GERMAN)

Excuse me?

You can't proceed.

- (g*n COCKS)

- I said, turn back.

(WHISPERS) For

f*ck's sake. Pigs.

NEWSREADER: (ON RADIO)

British Fascist leader,

Sir Oswald Mosley,

said it was folly

to have gone to

w*r with Germany.

MARS: Dissidents

of the new regime

had set up a refuge

in an old warehouse.

We were happy just to be safe.

ENOCH: Oh, this is the

tip of the iceberg.

The unseen face of Fascism.

If you can get these

pictures out to America,

it might help counter

all the propaganda.

Hey! Stop that!

- (BABY CRYING)

- WOMAN: What's wrong?

You know, like the

colour of the sky

- before it goes to night time.

- ENOCH: Nice.

- It's that kind of thing.

- ENOCH: Nice.

MARS: Indigo. ENOCH: Yeah.

Oy! (CHUCKLES)

(MARS LAUGHS)

Oy!

MARS: You need

something to do.

Little rascal.

So, Leo, here is how we put

the bits of film together

to make the images

become a story.

So, erm, hold it still.

Still.

And allow the camera

to become your eye.

Try to figure out where

you should be looking next.

Yeah, so maybe down to my hands

if I'm playing

with these things.

Onto my hands, like this.

Or maybe over to there

where I'm talking to you

and then back to my face again.

That's it.

(CHUCKLES) And a

bit more upright.

I think you're a natural.

(CAMERA RUSTLING)

(CHILD COUGHING)

(BABY CRYING)

NEWSREADER: (ON RADIO)

Mosley to lead Britain

to a new prosperity and

friendship with Germany.

MOSLEY: (ON RADIO) I

claim that in the ranks

of our Blackshirt legions,

march the mighty ghosts

of England's past.

NEWSREADER: (ON RADIO) Today,

our new German liberators

freed more political prisoners

detained under the old regime.

- There's Leo.

- Amongst those released

were scientist Thomasina

Hanbury, falsely accused...

(RADIO CRACKLING)

by the previous government.

Miss Hanbury's research

is of great interest

to the Third Reich.

(CAMERA RUSTLES)

(WHIRRING)

(TRIUMPHANT MUSIC

PLAYING ON SCREEN)

MARS: Try to keep

the camera still.

This evening, we are joined

by a very special guest,

Miss Thomasina Hanbury,

a self-educated orphan

who was condemned to death

by the old regime

three months ago,

only to be dramatically rescued

by our liberators mere

hours before her execution.

Since then, she has transformed

the nation's fortunes

in the field of

strategic forecasting.

Of particular note is her

mysterious invention, LOLA.

Miss Hanbury, may I ask,

how does your machine work?

It consists of a system

of electrical processors

which filter and amplify

even the faintest

electromagnetic wave

into a coherent signal.

And when combined

with an understanding

of quantum mechanics,

LOLA allows us

to observe broadcasts

from the future.

How impressive.

I hear the machine has baffled

the greatest engineering minds

of both Britain and Germany.

The men they sent

to examine LOLA

were limited by their

lack of imagination

as much as their formal

scientific training.

Thankfully, I prefer

to work alone.

My home laboratory

is everything I need.

What inspired you to

build this machine?

My father was an

inventor, an idealist.

And he believed

humankind was being

transformed for the better

by technological advances.

The work I do today

strives to this ideal.

To what end?

To create the perfect society.

A society in which

we all prosper.

No government blunders that

send people into poverty.

No more murders on the streets.

No conflicts and no w*r.

You've personally experienced

your fair share of adversity.

After the tragic

death of your parents,

you were left alone to

raise your sister, Martha,

while still very much

a child yourself.

That must have been difficult.

We managed.

Your current standing must

be all the more gratifying

considering the disgraceful way

Churchill's government

treated you and your sister,

who was sadly ex*cuted

before the liberators

could reach her.

There was nothing gratifying

about my sister's death.

When I received

the news, it was...

a horrible blow.

She deserved better.

It is a shame that LOLA

can't fix the past.

If Martha were alive today,

what would you say to her?

I would tell her

to live her life...

and to leave me behind.

(BABY CRYING)

We need to get her out of there.

It's too dangerous.

She'll get k*lled.

Well, she never goes a

day without swimming,

- so we can go and get her.

- Martha.

Look at me. We're safe here.

Let go of me.

I'm going to get her. I'm

going to find her now.

SEBASTIAN: How are

you gonna get there?

MARS: Are you gonna

come with me or not?

Fine, just let me go...

SEBASTIAN: They're

looking for you...

MARS: Just let me go

on my own. I'm fine.

SEBASTIAN: You're not safe.

MARS: I don't need you.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

SEBASTIAN: Mars,

get out of here.

MARS: Wait.

SEBASTIAN: Look. MARS:

What are you doing here?

SEBASTIAN: Get out of

there. SOLDIER: Intruder!

- (g*n FIRES)

- SEBASTIAN: Mars! Go on, go!

- (MARS WHIMPERS)

- (SOLDIER SHOUTS)

- (MARS PANTING)

- (g*n FIRES)

- (SEBASTIAN GROANS)

- MARS: Sebastian!

(MARS WHIMPERS)

(GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC PLAYING)

MARS: (SINGING) I drew a

line In the sands of time

Dared you to step over it

And you did

Saw your visage In

the looking glass

Such a pretty face

But such a bitter taste

Do you remember tomorrow?

The roads that we followed

To a life that might

Never come to be

The future is a distant memory

To me now

SEBASTIAN: Let me guess.

Bob Dylan?

No. That was me.

(BABY CRYING)

(FAINT CHATTERING)

MARS: My world became

empty and cold.

You, on the other hand,

were soaring to new heights.

(THE SOUND OF MARCHING FEEBY REGINALD WATSON PLAYING)

The sound of marching feet

Can you hear it?

The sound of marching feet

In the street below

Together we are strong

Crush the weaklings

So sing our fascist song

In the street below

Send to all the world a message.

England lives and marches on!

(SONG CONTINUES)

Learn to march in time

And fall into line

The sound of marching feet

Can you feel it?

The sound of marching feet

See the torches glow

-Put this record

on -(CLAMOURING)

Learn all of the lyrics

If your friends Don't sing along

Call the police

(SIREN WAILING)

The sound of marching feet

Left, right, left, left,

left Left, right, left

Left, left, left, right, left

Left, left

The sound of marching feet

Left, left, left, right, left

Left, left, left, right, left

-The sound of marching feet

-The sound of marching feet

-The sound of marching feet

-The sound of marching feet

-The sound of marching feet

-The sound of marching feet

Do not fraternise

With radicals and perverts

Learn to march in time

And fall into line

(PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING)

(DEEP BREATHING)

MARS: There was only one

thing left for me to do.

(TRIUMPHANT MUSIC PLAYING)

Today, the Prime Minister

announced that Adolf Hitler

will be making his first

state visit to England.

The Fhrer will be dropping

in on a very special house

on the Sussex Coast,

where government scientist

Thomasina Hanbury has been

conducting pioneering work.

Because of this

remarkable woman,

rescued and championed

by the Fhrer,

we say to our enemies,

"Watch out, we know

what you're going to do

"before you even think of it."

And now, it is my

pleasure to introduce you

to Master Reginald Watson,

the voice of the future.

(SINGING) Land of Hope

Thy hope is crowned

God make thee mightier yet

(CAMERA WHIRRING)

On sovereign brows

Beloved

Once more thy crown is set

(CAMERA WHIRRING)

(WHISPERS) Leo, stop filming.

God, who made thee mighty

(CROWD CHEERING)

Make thee mightier yet

God, who made thee mighty

Make thee mightier yet

(PATRIOTIC MUSIC PLAYING)

(NEWSREADER SPEAKING GERMAN)

(NEWSREADER CONTINUES

SPEAKING GERMAN)

(ELECTRICITY BUZZING)

(FEEDBACK ECHOES)

NEWSREADER: (ON

LOLA) At the rally,

President Lindbergh celebrated

how National Socialism

had brought the American

people together and...

(BUZZING)

NEWSREADER 2:

developed by British

and German scientists,

this is the ultimate w*apon

against the Bolshevik.

- (expl*si*n)

- (CLAMOURING)

NEWSREADER 3: Martha Hanbury

had entered the house

with the intention of

assassinating the Fhrer

but, fortuitously, her

b*mb went off prematurely

in an adjoining room,

and the deranged

woman was captured.

The shocked Fhrer

- escaped unscathed...

- THOM: Mars.

And issued an order for

the female t*rror1st

to be put to death immediately.

- (BUZZING)

- (DISTANT CLAMOURING)

(CRYING)

(MEET ME AT THE GALLOWS BY

REGINALD WATSON PLAYING)

REGINALD: (SINGING) There is

Nothing so gladdens the heart

Than to watch a traitor march

To the gallows

-To the gallows

-(BREATHING HEAVILY)

MAN: Hold!

Like a gardener pulling weeds

The path of treason only leads

To the gallows

(SONG STOPS)

MARS: I'm so glad I

bought you that car.

(SONG RESUMES) To the gallows

- (ENGINE RUMBLES)

- (g*ns FIRING)

(ENGINE REVVING)

(GRUNTS)

(MEET ME AT THE GALLOWS

CONTINUES PLAYING)

(GROANS)

(g*ns FIRING)

(SONG STOPS)

(MELANCHOLY MUSIC PLAYING)

MARS: I hid for days.

(CAMERA RUSTLING)

When the Nazis

left, I returned...

and found this.

THOM: (ON PHONOGRAPH)

April 12th, '42.

Preparations for LOLA's

demonstration are complete.

It's hard to believe I

am saying these words.

Adolf Hitler will

be here tomorrow.

(SIGHS) How's it come to this?

Fascism has truly won.

I was a fool to believe

I could work with these people.

What would Papa

think? Or Mars?

I'm almost glad

they're not alive

to witness this spectacle.

I don't know when it

started to go wrong,

but I fear it was long ago.

LOLA was never meant to be

an instrument of v*olence.

Mars was right.

The magic of LOLA was the beauty

of the world she opened for us,

those sounds and images

from another time.

Her power lay in what

we could learn from her.

Mars understood that.

But perhaps because

she was a dreamer,

she was the one with

the real imagination.

I can see that now.

Maybe if she were here,

we could find a way to

undo all of this together.

I miss her.

MARS: I miss you too, Thom.

But maybe there is a way

we can undo this together.

I've made this film for you.

It's the last broadcast of

the Angel of Portobello.

It's a shot in the dark.

And I'm sorry, Thom,

because if this film

doesn't find its way to you,

then you will have died

pointlessly and stupidly,

and I will truly

have lost everything.

We will all have lost

more than is bearable.

This film is for us, Thom.

And if we're lucky,

you'll be watching it long

before this horror unfolds.

Then perhaps you can turn

these words and images

into shadows of something

that could have happened.

Even though I'll

have to say goodbye

to the man I'll never meet.

Darling Thom...

can you save us after all?

(MELANCHOLY MUSIC CONTINUES)

(WHEN, WHEN, WHEN PLAYING)

When, when, when

Will we be together again?

I want to spend

My life with you

I really miss you, honey

When, when, when

Will your arms enfold me?

And hold me like Your

life on it depends

When, when

Will I see you again?

I really miss you

(SOMBRE PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)