Theodore

First picture
Paris 1895. Theodor Herzl, a Viennese journalist, covers the humiliation ceremony of Dreyfus, a French officer accused of treason. The crowd that gathers there calls for the death penalty.

Second picture
At the Herzl family home in Paris. Julie Herzl is frightened by the atmosphere of violence in the city. Herzl struggles to write an article for the newspaper, about the humiliation of Dreyfus. He leaves his house, agitated, to wander the streets of Paris.

Third picture
Vienna 1881. Young Theodor Herzl is accepted into the “Albia” – a nationalist student association. He and his friend Paul are the first Jewish members of the association. The two celebrate at an inn with their new friends. The mockery from an anti-Semitic waitress does not dampen their joy.

Fourth picture
The adult Herzl wanders the streets of Paris. A pimp persuades him to come to the room of a young girl. Herzl is horrified to think that these are the desires he denies. He flees from there, but is unable to return home.

Fifth picture
The Vienna Opera House. The students admire a work by Wagner. Young Theodor sees himself as a future of a celebrated playwright. Paul feels that, as a Jew, he will forever remain an outsider in European culture.

Sixth picture
The adult Herzl enters a Parisian church. Inspired by the priest’s words and the singing of the choir, he foresees a historic move – the mass conversion of all the world’s Jews to Christianity, under his leadership.

Seventh picture
Herzl returns home and tells his wife about the daring plan. Julie responds with ridicule and rejection.

Eighth picture
The adult Herzl struggles with Julie’s harsh words. The young Theodore fights a duel with Paul – an initiation ceremony into the student union. The two battles, in both periods, take place simultaneously. Herzl surrenders to his wife and despair. Theodore defeats Paul and is filled with happiness. He feels all-powerful. Herzl, from the distance of years, predicts a quick collapse for him.

Ninth picture
At a memorial service for Wagner, Hermann, from the student union, gives an anti-Semitic speech. Theodor asks to resign with honor from the union. Paul betrays his friend, and proposes that from now on Jews will not be admitted to the “Albia.” Both he and Theodor are expelled in disgrace. Paul commits suicide.

Tenth picture
Herzl and Theodor are desperate. In an imaginary duet between them, they search for a way out of the impasse. Herzl almost loses his mind, then is filled with a new vision – the establishment of a Jewish state. His friends and acquaintances are called upon to dissuade him from the idea, but Herzl sits down to write his fateful book – “The Jewish State.”