Arch of Triumph

On a night-time bridge over the Seine, Ravic intervenes to save Joan from despair. Their chance encounter sparks a forbidden romance between two refugees who both live under constant risk. The moment binds them together amid the looming menace of the regime.

Ravic hides in Paris under a false name and without documents, always fearing a sudden arrest. He navigates the city with heightened vigilance, haunted by his past with the Nazis. His fragile refuge depends on remaining invisible to the authorities.

Haake, the Gestapo chief who sent Ravic to a concentration camp, remains a haunting threat. When Ravic is discovered as a refugee without papers, he is forced to part from Joan. The search for safety pushes them toward separate fates.

Six months pass with little contact, and when they meet again the romance is tempered by shadows from the past. They try to mend their fractured relationship despite the weight of danger around them. Mutual longing competes with fear and unresolved conflicts.

Joan tells her lover that she is leaving him for Ravic, a risky confession that unsettles both their already fragile lives. The revelation intensifies the tension surrounding their future. The threat of discovery hangs over them as they plan anew.

Joan and Ravic reunion takes place at a Parisian restaurant, where they try to chart a hopeful future together. The atmosphere blends longing with fear as international events begin to press in. They cling to their bond while the external world grows perilous.

Ravic spots Haake at another table, and an old wound is reopened by a burning desire for revenge. In a protective impulse, he pushes Joan away to shield her from the danger of his vendetta. The couple’s fragile closeness crumbles under the weight of history.

Radio and newspapers carry alarming warnings that war is imminent, signaling the end of fragile peace. The looming conflict colors every choice Ravic makes. Paris feels like a city teetering on the edge of catastrophe.

Ravic assassinates Haake, but the act is hollow; he cannot reveal his identity or hold Haake to account for the lives ruined. The private war ends without closure, leaving Ravic with a heavier burden. The city’s turmoil continues to press in on him.

Joan is wounded by her jealous lover, and Ravic is called to help in the aftermath. The violence fractures their fragile existence and deepens the tragedy surrounding them. The couple’s hope is eclipsed by the cruelty of the moment.

In the operating room, the doctors tell Ravic that removing the bullet is impossible. Joan endures excruciating pain as life hangs by a thread. They reaffirm their love in the quiet seriousness of the moment.

Joan pleads to be released from pain, and Ravic grants her release with an injection as she dies. He silently mourns, his words of love shaping a bitter farewell. The act marks a final, devastating closure to their relationship.

Boris offers Ravic false identity papers to flee, but Ravic rejects the possibility of living without a name. He grows weary of running and chooses a different path. The decision signals a turning point in his struggle against invisibility.

Ravic turns himself in to the French authorities and is transported to an internment camp. A truck carries him through the night toward the Arc de Triomphe as war nears. A fellow passenger’s line—'Here we go again'—highlights the grim resilience of humanity.

The audience understands that war is about to begin and that the Nazis will march into Paris along the same route the truck is taking. The film closes on a foreboding note, with the city poised for conquest. Ravic’s fate remains tied to the larger catastrophe looming over France.