The Translators

The Translators

Year: 2019

Runtime: 105 mins

Language: French

Director: Régis Roinsard

Echo Score: 73

Budget: $10M

MysteryThrillerThrillers and murder mysteriesIntriguing and suspenseful murder mysteriesPowerful poetic and passionate drama

Nine translators, hired to translate the eagerly awaited final book of a bestselling trilogy, are confined in a luxurious bunker.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline – The Translators (2019)

Trace every key event in The Translators (2019) with our detailed, chronological timeline. Perfect for unpacking nonlinear stories, spotting hidden connections, and understanding how each scene builds toward the film’s climax. Whether you're revisiting or decoding for the first time, this timeline gives you the full picture.

1

Bunker translation project begins

The nine translators are brought to a secret bunker to translate the final Dedalus. The project is run by publisher Éric Angstrom, while the author Oscar Brach remains unknown to all involved. Translators receive only small sections of the manuscript each day to translate.

Secret bunker
2

Daily incremental translations

Translators are fed small excerpts daily, forcing them to work in isolation. The secrecy around the text seeds suspicion and fear. The tight control heightens tension within the group.

Bunker
3

First ten pages leak online

After a few days, the first ten pages are posted on the Internet by an unknown party, breaking the bunker’s isolation. Angstrom and the translators scramble to contain the leak and manage the fallout. The incident sharpens mistrust and panic among the team.

Internet
4

Ransom demand received

Angstrom receives a ransom note demanding five million euros to stop further pages. He uses the threat to pressure the translators and to identify the blackmailer. The crisis deepens as loyalty fractures and fear spreads.

Publisher's bunker
5

Angstrom's intimidation escalates

Angstrom intensifies pressure on individual translators, using threats and coercive tactics. Mistrust grows as colleagues suspect one another of complicity. The claustrophobic atmosphere inside the bunker becomes dangerously volatile.

Bunker
6

Helene's suicide

Danish translator Helene, overwhelmed by the strain, takes her own life. Her death underscores the deadly cost of greed and secrecy surrounding Dedalus. The group reels from the tragedy as the project teeters on collapse.

Bunker
7

Goodman’s plan to steal the manuscript

Flashbacks reveal English translator Alex Goodman's plan to steal the manuscript. He teams up with other translators and seems to have copied the book from Angstrom before the translation project began. His betrayal complicates motives and sets up a confrontation within the bunker.

8

More pages published; shooting

As more pages surface, the pressure erupts in violence: Angstrom shoots Goodman and Katerina, the Russian translator. The shootings shatter remaining loyalties and trigger a purge of trust within the bunker. The situation spirals as security forces crack down.

Bunker
9

Security forces turn; Angstrom arrested

The formerly loyal security forces turn against Angstrom, denying his control. He is arrested in the aftermath of the brutal upheaval. The power structure around the translation project collapses.

Bunker/Publisher's facility
10

Goodman visits Angstrom; reveals his true identity

Goodman visits the prisoner and reveals that he is actually Oscar Brach. The revelation reframes the entire conflict and exposes the depths of deception within the project. Angstrom's grip on the situation begins to slip.

Prison
11

Georges was Goodman’s friend; Georges killed by Angstrom

Goodman explains that Georges, a bookseller who was killed by Angstrom after refusing to continue working, was a close friend of Goodman. The murder is shown as part of the chain of greed and betrayal behind Dedalus.

Prison
12

Resolution: Angstrom imprisoned; Goodman unmasked

With the confessions and the collapse of Angstrom's scheme, Oscar Brach's true identity is secured. Angstrom remains imprisoned and Georges’s murder is avenged. The mystery of the manuscript theft is resolved.

Prison

Last Updated: October 14, 2025 at 04:07

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