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The film shifts from the 1940s during the Siege of Budapest and Arrow Cross atrocities to the 1980s legal proceedings in the United States. The historical events drive the plot and haunt the present courtroom, highlighting how memory and evidence travel across decades. The timeline juxtaposes wartime horror with a modern day pursuit of truth.

The story moves between wartime Budapest, a city under siege and the site of wartime atrocities, and present-day Chicago where a Chicago defense attorney fights a legal battle. Budapest appears as a place of memory, with sites like the Danube and the Széchenyi Lánchíd bridge referenced. Chicago serves as the hub of the courtroom drama where Ann Talbot defends her father and uncovers forged documents.

🔎 Truth vs Perception

The narrative centers on what really happened versus what witnesses and forged documents suggest. Ann's investigation challenges official narratives and tests the reliability of testimony under pressure. The film shows how truth can be manipulated by state power, memory, and the passage of time.

⚖️ Justice

A courtroom drama probes due process, the burden of proof, and whether guilt can be proven beyond reasonable doubt. The Office of Special Investigations pursues a wartime war-crimes case even as the evidence is questioned. The tension rises when documents and identifications are shown to be forged or misattributed.

🕯️ Memory and Guilt

The film weighs personal memory against historical fact, as survivors' testimonies clash with the possibility of manipulation. Guilt seeps into family, as Ann confronts her father’s past and the possibility that memory can be a weapon. The unresolved past casts a shadow on the present and informs every decision.

💔 Family and Betrayal

A daughter battles to reconcile love for her father with a demand for the truth about atrocities. The father’s alleged crimes fracture the family, with trust eroded by secrets and alleged past actions. The moral dilemma centers on whether blood ties justify withholding accountability.