Danton

In cold spring 1794 Paris, bread lines stretch through the rain and fear grips the city. Robespierre peers out onto the streets and sees Danton returning from the countryside, celebrated by a hungry, dispirited populace who still regard him as a hero. The political climate foreshadows the looming confrontation between the two former allies.

Héron, head of the secret police, visits Robespierre and is told to crush Desmoulins' print shop, which is publishing pro-Danton circulars. Robespierre sanctions the move, signaling the regime's readiness to silence dissent. The print shop’s destruction marks the first direct blow against Danton's influence.

While Robespierre is attended by his barber, Saint-Just enters and presses for Danton to be guillotined. Robespierre refuses to bow to this pressure, trying to balance friendship with revolutionary duty. The tension reveals the rift between personal loyalties and political necessity.

At a meeting of the Committee of Public Safety, other members advocate for removing Danton, arguing he threatens the Republic. Robespierre, torn by his friendship with Danton, resists the push and delays any drastic move. The power struggle escalates as rivals try to outmaneuver him.

General Westermann discusses a coup to overthrow Robespierre with Danton, who refuses to join such illegal action. Danton believes the people's support through his newspaper and presence will shield him. He urges Bourdon to denounce Héron, hoping to expose the secret police.

Bourdon's denunciation of Héron triggers the arrest of Héron and several of his associates. The secret police's grip on power begins to crack as one of its chief instruments is neutralized. The arrests ignite further warnings of the danger Robespierre faces from within his own coalition.

That night, Danton hosts Robespierre for a lavish dinner in a private room, hoping to win him to a more moderate stance. Robespierre refuses to yield and leaves after failed talks. On the street, he encounters a group of armed men who turn out to be Westermann's coup force, who Danton still refuses to join.

Robespierre goes to Desmoulins' house, where Desmoulins is furious about the destruction of his press and refuses to talk. Desmoulins' wife begs him to stay and live, asking Robespierre to intervene with gentler measures. Robespierre leaves unable to change his friend’s path.

Robespierre returns to the Committee of Public Safety and obtains a warrant for the arrest of Danton, Desmoulins, Westermann, and several associates. The interior politics of the Revolution snap into a new, deadly phase. The act sets the stage for an irreversible collapse of Danton’s coalition.

The National Convention erupts in outrage at the arrests, while Bourdon abandons Danton to back Robespierre. The political landscape shifts as an old ally joins the faction of the Committee. Robespierre’s position gains the upper hand, though at a steep moral cost.

The trial opens with Danton, Desmoulins, Westermann and allies facing a tribunal that is short of jurors but proceeds. Danton interrupts repeatedly, challenging the proceedings. Prosecutor Fouquier complains that there is little ground for conviction, but the court presses on.

A decree is issued prohibiting anyone from speaking out of turn in court. Within minutes, the accused are bundled out and the verdict of guilty is read. The legal process is revealed as a hollow instrument in service of political ends.

On the eve of their deaths, Danton sits in prison, depressed at having failed the people rather than the Revolution’s goals. He questions whether his life mattered as the crowd’s passionate support wanes. His emotional state foreshadows the bloodshed to come.

Danton, Desmoulins, and Westermann are led to the scaffold and guillotined as the crowd falls silent. Robespierre’s long-suppressed tension fractures; Saint-Just presses him toward dictatorship. Robespierre recognizes that dictatorial power would betray the Revolution’s ideals, symbolized by a child reciting the Rights of Man amid the tragedy.