UPCOMING PROJECT FROM MUTUAL ENTERTAINMENT "MARCEL"

ISAAC FLORENTINE (Director) I CARSTEN LORENZ (Producer)
MARK HOLDOM (Distribution Manager) I FRED GOLT (Co-Executive Producer)

SYNOPSIS
Story by Isaac Florentine / Synopsis by Tom McCurrie

It's 1940, and France has fallen to the German Blitzkrieg. The French suffer under the tyranny of their Nazi occupiers and their French collaborators in the Vichy puppet government. The country's Jews fare even worse, enduring endless persecution as anti-Semitism has now become official government policy.

But to French smuggler MARCEL, none of this matters. All he cares about is himself and the cold hard cash he's paid to smuggle contraband over the border from Italy to sell on the black market.

Marcel wasn't always like this: at the 1924 Paris Olympics, he inspired his fellow Frenchmen by defeating the Austrian champion METZNER in Savate (France's indigenous martial art, also referred to as "Fencing with feet" – an elegant form of kickboxing that was developed during the 17th – 20th century). But that was a long time ago and the harshness of life has changed him.

So when Jewish DR. COHEN asks Marcel to smuggle him and his nine year-old son JOJO across the border into neutral Spain so they can escape deportation to the east, he doesn't do it out of the goodness of his heart; he does it because they offer to pay him well.

Tragedy strikes when Dr. Cohen is gunned down by none other than Metzner himself, now a sadistic SS officer rounding up "undesirables" in occupied France. Marcel tries to back out of smuggling Jojo into Spain, but money has already changed hands, and Jojo convinces him that a deal's a deal.

Besides, Marcel has little choice but to make a run for the border. For once Metzner learns that his old foe from the Olympics is harboring Jojo, he swears to track Marcel down, no matter what the cost, to avenge the humiliating loss he suffered at Marcel's hands in 1924.

So the chase is on – Marcel uses his skills at smuggling to help Jojo evade German patrols, and his skills at Savate to pummel any Nazi that tries to stop them, while Metzner relentlessly pursues his quarry wherever they happen to hide, whether it's a monastery or a gangster's lair, brutally murdering anyone who gets in his way.

As they dash headlong for the Spanish frontier, Marcel grows more and more impressed by Jojo's bravery, street-smarts and all-around heart. Marcel soon realizes he's not risking his life to save this kid for the money, he's doing it because Jojo has become like a son to him. And Marcel has now become like a father to Jojo.

Marcel and Jojo finally make it to the border, only to be trapped by Metzner and his men before they can cross into Spain. To prove once and for all who is the best at Savate, Marcel and Metzner agree to one last fight. If Marcel wins, the Germans will let Marcel and Jojo go. If Marcel loses…well, it's better not to think of that. Metzner looks like he has the edge in this battle since Marcel was shot in the leg at a German checkpoint.

The fight doesn't so much begin as erupt. Metzner rains a series of savage blows down on Marcel, and the already-injured Frenchman weakens nearly to the point of succumbing. But with a well-timed distraction from Jojo, and a well-aimed kick from Marcel, Metzner is set back on his heels, and soon Marcel is the one pummeling Metzner, causing the Austrian to fall to the ground in a crumpled heap. Victorious, Marcel and Jojo joyously head towards Spain and freedom.

But unable to bear the disgrace of losing to Marcel yet again, Metzner shoots Marcel in the back, mortally wounding him. The Germans rush to grab Jojo, but he's already across the border.

His life rapidly ebbing away, Marcel stays conscious long enough to see that Jojo has made it safely into Spain. Realizing Metzner cannot touch the boy now, Marcel dies with a smile on his face.