December, 1944. As the war in Europe reaches a crescendo, two young airmen - an atheist B-17 navigator and a devout German fighter pilot downed in the mountains of eastern France - forge an inseparable bond when they undertake a daring rescue mission neither can possibly survive.

SYNOPSIS:

THE LAST MISSION

Tone & Style: Searing action-packed thriller filled with constant danger, terrifying combat, devout Christian mysticism and a highly combustible friendship between two young airmen on opposite sides of the war. And while the tone is largely dark and foreboding, there are many amusing moments of wartime humor, sly cunning, clumsy misunderstandings and awkward missteps. The turbulent and unpredictable story world is filled with horrific violence, fierce winter landscapes, daring escapes and breathtaking heroics as two men with little in common except combat flying fight a desperate battle against impossible odds to keep each other alive and answer a mystical calling that plays far above period war movies and should deeply connect with audiences all over the world.

The breathtaking aerial combat and close camaraderie of MASTERS OF THE AIR and MEMPHIS BELLE, the action-packed behind the lines daring of WHERE EAGLES DARE, the harsh wintertime landscape of BAND OF BROTHERS, the sly wartime humor of MAS*H and the religious overtones of HACKSAW RIDGE of combine in a deeply moving and highly cinematic saga of two young men from opposite sides of the war who learn to put their differences aside and take on a divine mission that puts their lives in the hands of God.

Main Characters:

Lt. Jack Prescott: B-17 Navigator. Ivy League smart, highly dependable and devoutly atheist, age 21. The only college man in his crew. Prone to flashes of arrogance and temper. Fights the war from a bomber at 25,000 feet. Can’t wait to log his last mission so he can go back to Dartmouth, finish his degree and become an architect. But something’s got him spooked, and he fears he’ll never make it.

Maj. Erich von Langenburg: Boyish Luftwaffe Squadron Leader and devout Catholic son of one of Germany’s oldest aristocratic families, age 21. Carries himself with the grace of an angel and hears God’s voice at the strangest times. Plays Bach like he wrote it and knows history like he’s lived it. Eager for the war to end so he can finish his medical degree and become a doctor. But he fears he’ll never make it.

SYNOPSIS

October, 1965. Jack Prescott, 42, is at the top of his game. Prominent architect, head of a typical “Leave It To Beaver” family and oozing with confidence. But as Jack rides the train into Manhattan, we sense that he’s hiding a secret that must never get out. As Jack sits at his desk overlooking the Chrysler Building, a package arrives from Heidelberg containing a bloodstained escape map used by WWII airmen and a Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, Germany’s highest military honor. The letter from Erich’s wife Marie says that Erich has died suddenly, and as a heartbroken Jack gazes out the windows, the haunting memories come flooding back.

London. December, 1944. The end of the war in Europe is in sight as Navigator Jack Prescott, 21, and the rambunctious crew of Diamond Lil celebrate in an underground dance hall. One more mission and Jack can punch his ticket home, finish Dartmouth and start his career as an architect. But a voice inside tells him this last mission will be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile, at a remote fighter base hidden deep in the Black Forest, Knight’s Cross-wearing Major Erich von Langenburg, 21, the devout son of one of Germany’s oldest aristocratic families and head of a squadron of even younger pilots, waits for the B-17s to come. All he wants is to return to university and finish his medical degree, but when he starts having mystical dreams and hears the strains of Bach’s “O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden” coming from a mothballed transport plane, he knows that God is sending him a message.

As the B-17s finish their bomb run over Stuttgart and head back across the Rhine, Erich’s squadron attacks. Diamond Lil is hit and everyone is killed except Jack, who miraculously bails out. Erich’s plane is also hit, but when a heavenly light surrounds it and takes control, Erich knows God has chosen him for a holy mission.

Wounded and terrified, Jack parachutes into the frozen mountains of eastern France, where Erich and his nascent medical skills save Jack’s life. Jack is in no condition to go it alone, and Erich believes Jack has been sent by God to help him complete his mysterious mission. With waring armies and partisan factions sweeping The Vosges and Jack torn about befriending the enemy, the two young airmen decide to go AWOL and set off on a perilous journey, having no idea what to expect.

Jack and Erich’s relationship is highly complex. Jack is smart, but Erich is otherworldly and wise beyond his years. He seems to know everything about history, philosophy and music like he’s lived a dozen lives, and it quickly gets on Jack’s nerves. One night at an abandoned farmer’s cottage, Erich baits Jack into an explosive rage, only to say he was testing Jack to see if he was tough enough for what lies ahead. And when Jack, a staunch atheist, asks what this “holy fucking mission” is, Erich simply says it will be revealed. Jack accuses Erich of thinking he’s some crazy warrior angel, which Erich doesn’t deny.

Jack and Erich start growing closer. Wrapped in blankets and looking like monks on a holy pilgrimage, they reach a bombed-out town, enter a church and meet Marie Dubois, a brave and beautiful young schoolteacher whose brother Francois, a Resistance leader, has been captured by the Gestapo. Erich and Marie are drawn to each other’s strong faith and good looks, and when Marie asks for their help, Erich gallantly offers their services, believing Marie has been sent by God. Jack balks at the prospect of taking on the Gestapo, but afraid of being called a coward by Erich, he reluctantly agrees to go along with the plan.

Disguised as a steely SS Major and a cold-blooded SS Sergeant wearing a Erich’s Knight’s Cross, Erich and Jack bluff their way into Gestapo headquarters and whisk the brutally tortured Francois away. But when the Gestapo finally realize what’s happened, Marie and her 20 schoolchildren are taken hostage and trucked across the Rhine to Germany. Erich surrenders himself in exchange for their lives, but is stood before a firing squad instead. Suddenly Jack storms in like a one-man army and in a ferocious assault that kills dozens, saves Erich in a daring rescue and they frantically ski through the night to the safety of a monastery, where both Jack and Erich hear the voice of God and the divine mission is revealed.

Crossing the Rhine in the monastery’s hot air balloon, Jack and Erich land in the Black Forest, steal the German transport plane from Erich’s fighter base, fly it to the village where Marie and the children are being held and in another impossibly daring rescue, Jack finds a courage he never knew he had. With Erich piloting, Jack on the guns, the plane packed with Marie and the children and running out of gas, they make a harrowing midnight run down the Rhine battling American P-51s and in a breathtaking feat of bare-knuckle flying, crash land just inside Switzerland on Christmas Eve, saving everyone aboard.

Christmas Eve, 1965. Jack, his wife and their young teenage kids arrive in Heidelberg to spend Christmas with Marie and her two young teens. Many dark secrets have been kept for 20 years, but with the help of The Beatles “Rubber Soul” and a joyous photograph of Erich, Jack and Marie taken in Switzerland in 1945, Jack knows he has one last mission to complete: to tell his wife, his kids and Erich’s kids about the terrible, mystical and utterly miraculous events they survived as young combatants at the end of the war as a majestic ornament of the Archangel Michael gazes down on them from the top of the Christmas tree.

"A truly engaging story. The concept of two soldiers from opposing sides forging a relationship and surviving under extremely difficult circumstances delivers tense action sequences and compelling emotional moments. The stakes are very high and the script does an excellent job of presenting them." –The Black List. (Nicholl QF)

Marketing Potential: War movies have been done a thousand times, but THE LAST MISSION, like ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, captures the intensity, desperation, resilience and heroism of war like few movies ever have and will connect with viewers around the world, regardless of faith or country.