| The Translators | |
| Starring: | Lambert Wilson Alex Lawther |
| Cinematography: | Guillaume Schiffman |
| Music: | Jun Miyake |
| Country: | France |
| Language: | French |
| Runtime: | 105 minutes |
| Budget: | $10.6 million [1] |
| Gross: | $3.1 million [2] |
The Translators (French: Les Traducteurs) is a 2019 French mystery thriller film directed by,[3] [4] based on the experience of the simultaneous translators in 2013 of Dan Brown's novel Inferno.[5]
The publication of the last part of the globally successful book trilogy Dedalus is imminent. In order to ensure a smooth start without data leaks or spoilers, the translation of the book is to be carried out in complete isolation and under strict security precautions. The nine translators are therefore taken to a bunker to translate the book into their respective languages. Since the identity of the successful author Oscar Brach himself is unknown, the translation project is managed and carried out by his publisher Éric Angstrom. The translators receive only small sections of the secret book each day, which are to be translated gradually. After just a few days, however, the first ten pages are published on the Internet by an unknown person. In addition, Angstrom receives a ransom note with a demand for several million euros in order to prevent the publication of further pages. As a result, Angstrom continues to put pressure on the translators and terrorize them in the hope of identifying the blackmailer. This leads to growing mistrust within the group and finally to the suicide of the Danish translator Tuxen.
Meanwhile, through flashbacks, the viewer learns of the English translator Alex Goodman's plan to steal the manuscript. To do this, he teams up with some of his fellow translators and seems to have stolen and copied the book from Angstrom even before the start of the translation project.
As more and more pages of the book are published, the situation in the bunker escalates more and more, and when Angstrom shoots Goodman and the Russian translator, the previously loyal security forces also turn against the publisher, who is then arrested. Goodman visits the prisoner some time later and reveals to him his identity as Oscar Brach. In protest against Angstrom's methods and greed, the successful author has himself mingled with the translators in order to expose Angstrom. During this conversation, Angstrom accidentally reveals that he killed Goodman's father.
Due to the confession and other events, Angstrom remains in prison. Goodman's true identity is thus secured and the murder of his father is avenged.
This movie was inspired by the unique translation operation of Dan Brown's Inferno in 2013, which was conceived to prevent leaking and "guarantee the simultaneous publication of the novel worldwide".[6] The translators were divided into two groups and worked from Milan and London respectively. In 2017, the same operation was repeated for the translation of Origin, the fifth book in the Robert Langdon series, with 26 translators working together in Barcelona.