The Phoenician Scheme 2025
In 1950 above the Balkan mountains, arms dealer Anatole is flying on his private plane. Suddenly he hears a noise and when he turns around, his assistant blows up and causes a hole in the wall. The plane starts going down, so Anatole rushes to the cockpit and gives the pilot some tips on what to do. When a plane engine catches fire, the pilot freaks out and yells at Anatole because he ignored his warnings when he told him not to fly today. If they survive, the pilot will report him to the aviation authority.
Anatole decides to fire him and ejects the pilot's seat before taking over the plane. Moments later the plane crashes in a cornfield and Anatole's death appears on the news. Anatole's soul is now in the afterlife next to his grandmother, who doesn't seem to know him. A pine court discusses whether Anatole is worthy of heaven before he wakes up in the plane wreckage, severely wounded but still alive. He crosses the cornfield and interrupts a reporter who is currently interviewing the pilot on TV, so now all the newspapers have to announce that he's alive.
Later in his mansion, Anatole is taken care of by a whole team of nurses. Meanwhile a secret organization led by Excalibur discusses Anatole, who is wanted for tax evasion, profiteering, price fixing, and bribery. They all agree it's time to bring down Anatole once and for all. Once Anatole is feeling better he arranges a meeting with his only daughter Liesl, who happens to be a nun. He announces that she's made her the sole heir of his fortune instead of any of her nine brothers.
Anatole has always ignored his blood sons and instead has adopted orphan children, who are currently watching from the balcony. Liesel hasn't seen her father in six years so she's suspicious of this sudden decision. He explains he wants her to avenge him if his enemies end up killing him, then he shows her a bunch of boxes. They're his latest and most important project, called the Phoenician Scheme. Liesel interrupts his explanation to ask about her mother because she's heard that Anatole killed her.
In fact, they say that he's murdered all his wives. Anatole denies it all and says he's never killed anyone. He also swears that he was very fond of Liesel's mother. This doesn't explain why he abandoned Liesel at a convent when she was five. Ignoring his daughter's concerns, Anatole continues to explain what each of the boxes contains. There are plans for a dam, a canal, a tunnel, a massive workforce, negotiations with barons in shipping, mining, and railroads, and lastly agreements with business titans like banking, real estate, and black markets.
Basically he plans to take over other businesses in Phoenicia by using slave labor. They're interrupted by one of the boys shooting an arrow on fire that falls on a box. The butler immediately puts it out and Anatole leaves the room to take care of his unruly sons. Then Liesel notices that her father's new assistant Bjorn is nearby saying hi. When Anatole comes back, Liesel asks what's in the last box. Anatole says that's the gap and they'll talk about that one later.
He wants Liesel to drop out of church and help him, but she's still wary of him. Then they have lunch with Bjorn and Anatole puts him through a polygraph test to make sure he isn't an undercover spy. For the next few days, Anatole keeps opening his contraband while Liesel analyzes the contents of the boxes, noticing how unethical and horrifying the whole plan is.
However she also wonders if she should do it just to receive his fortune, which she could use to help people in the future. Bjorn starts tutoring the boys and Liesel notices that none of them are receiving family affection. One morning Anatole tells Liesel that her mother didn't self-delete like the official ruling said, she indeed was murdered and he theorizes that his half-brother Nubar did it.
The brothers hate each other yet they still do business together and Newbar is even part of one of the Bach's plans. Liesel wants to get close to her uncle to bring him to justice, so she agrees to sign the deal with her father and join his plan. Meanwhile Excalibur makes a presentation about the Bashable Rivet, which is used in most engineering projects. It's usually sold at 10 for a nickel, so he plans to raise that price significantly to mess with Anatole's plans. In the middle of the night, Anatole receives the news of market manipulation and he rushes to wake Liesel up, since they need to act fast.
Not only are the rivets going up, but all construction materials are getting their prices raised too. Anatole can tell this is sabotage, so he announces they're leaving on his private plane. He's hired two arsonists to burn down the house if they end up needing the insurance money. Now they'll have to travel to every partner in the plan to renegotiate all their agreements. Excalibur informs his board that Anatole is on the move. He's also discovered that such a large number of assassination attempts have left Anatole with severe head trauma.
During the flight Liesel notices that they're carrying a strange box and her father explains their hand grenades. She asks if he's used them before but he refuses to answer. Then Anatole puts Bjorn through another polygraph test and leaves him in charge of the bag containing all his cash. Liesel and Bjorn start chatting and get to know each other better.
Bjorn admits he doesn't believe in God and calls Liesel lovely. When they're about to land, Anatole reveals that he doesn't have a passport because he's a citizen of nowhere and he doesn't need human rights. Suddenly they hear a noise and Anatole casually mentions the bomb from last time, which causes Liesel to start praying. Some time later they make it to a mountain where a locomotive tunnel is being built. While they watch the project, Anatole tells Liesel that he never lost interest in her.
It turns out all these years his people have been spying on her and reporting her life progress. At that moment a group of assassins arrives on camels and Anatole tells his driver to get the grenades from the car while Liesel reveals she has a knife. However the driver is immediately shot down. Before the rest of the group can be shot too, Prince Farouk and his bodyguard arrive with open fire to scare the assassins away. Farouk compliments Liesel's looks and says it's a pity she's a nun before gifting them a fancier knife. In return Anatole gifts him a grenade.
Afterward they explore the tunnel, which shakes as they pass through. Liesel worries that it may not be safe since the tunnel is still under construction but Anatole tells her not to worry. Both Farouk and Bjorn offer to hold her hand to comfort her but she turns them down. At the end of the tunnel they find a bunch of workers and the financier brothers Leland and Regan. They're angry because Anatole has modified their contract to increase their contributions to the project. After an argument that goes nowhere, Anatole offers to settle this with a basketball game.
The brothers will play against Anatole and Farouk, who never played before. While they wait, Bjorn convinces Liesel to try alcohol for the first time and uses the chance to keep flirting with her. The brothers keep taunting Farouk with rude comments, which distracts him and causes him to fail most of his shots. Anatole starts losing hope and calls Liesel to tell her the story of her birth, explaining that he got to cut her umbilical cord. He regrets sending her to the convent because they brainwashed her into becoming religious, when his goal was just keeping her away from his boys.
He also reveals that she's named after his grandmother and that she was the only child he ever wanted to take care of, but it wasn't possible. Then Anatole challenges the brothers to one last shot. If Farouk succeeds, they can use the original contract but the brothers will have to cover 10% of the gap. If he misses, Anatole will give the brothers all the money he's brought with him.
The brothers agree to the deal and Liesel prays for Farouk, who thankfully manages to land the shot. Later Anatole has another vision of the afterlife where he brings a deer carcass to his three wives. When he cuts the animal open, lots of coins spill out. One of the wives announces that Liesel isn't his daughter. At that moment Anatole wakes up in his plane and tells Liesel that she has his eyes. She looks at a picture of her uncle and notices she has his eyes too. The phone rings with a call from Bob, one of the project's business partners. Anatole tells him that the brothers agreed to cover the whole gap.
Liesel scolds him for lying but Anatole says that he's just doing a strategy. Suddenly Bjorn finds a bomb that will blow up in 18 minutes, and Anatole tells him to ignore it because they'll land in 10. That night the group visits Bob's club and Anatole gifts him a hand grenade while Liesel gets to drink again. While they dine, Bob receives an anonymous letter trying to blackmail him into covering the rest of the gap. Bob recognizes Anatole's handwriting and an argument ensues, during which Anatole admits that the brothers and Farouk agreed to take only a small percentage of the gap.
Their argument is interrupted when a guerrilla unit led by Sergio bursts into the club and opens fire, intending to rob the place and the clients. Bob comes out to confront them and the soldiers try to shoot him, but Anatole acts as a shield and takes the bullet instead. Thankfully it doesn't kill him because some papers in his pocket slowed it down.
Anatole makes Bob remove the bullet and asks him to keep it, so an impressed Bob agrees to cover part of the gap. Sometime later the group boards a ship to meet with Captain Marty, who is also part of Anatole's plan. Marty knows about the gap and says he won't cover it, but Anatole swears he's just there for a symbolic meeting and gives him a hand grenade. Suddenly Anatole passes out because of blood loss and he has another vision of the afterlife. This time there's a child version of Liesel telling the court about the terrifying night of her mother's death and how her father just told her that she wouldn't live there anymore.
Anatole realizes he's on trial and his hands are in shackles before waking up. A sailor is using a machine to do a blood transfusion between Marty and Anatole, who starts telling Liesel new details about her mother. It turns out she had many lovers including Anatole's brother Nubar, which made Anatole very angry. He wrote a letter to Nubar pretending to be his wife to break up with him, saying she got together with the secretary. Anatole thinks this caused Nubar to kill them both. When Liesel asks her father if he loved her mother, he admits he didn't and only was fond of her, so Liesel slaps him.
Anatole apologizes and is shocked to hear that Liesel easily forgives him, claiming she always expected the worst from him. Afterward Anatole gives Marty his new proposal, but the captain throws it out the window. An argument ensues so Anatole takes out a grenade and pulls the pin out. The group ends up laughing at the ridiculous situation and Marty agrees to pay part of the gap too. Meanwhile Excalibur receives another report on Anatole's movements, confirming that there's a spy passing the information.
Sometime later Anatole meets with the next business partner, his second cousin Hilda. He asks her to marry him but clarifies that Liesel will still be the only heir to his fortune. Hilda takes the ring without answering, then she tells Liesel the story of how her grandfather and Anatole's had a dumb argument that broke the family. No matter how much Anatole begs, Hilda refuses to help pay the gap. Liesel asks her if she knows who killed her mother or if Nubar is her father, but Hilda only knows the rumors. Later on the plane Anatole opens a letter with an emergency directive and learns that a parliamentary motion has been passed just to stop him.
He needs to be home with a notary by noon tomorrow or he'll be sent to prison. While Anatole goes to ask the pilot for a change of route, Liesel hears Bjorn tapping his fingers and realizes it's Morse code. Their conversation is interrupted by Anatole turning on the emergency alarm. It turns out the pilot has been poisoned and now Anatole is in charge of the plane. After the pilot is ejected on his seat, a fighter jet appears near them.
The jet opens fire and damages the plane, which ends up crashing in a forest. The whole group survives but Bjorn's bag breaks and spreads all his fake passwords, which confirm he's Excalibur's spy. After changing his mannerisms from awkward nerd to cool agent, Bjorn explains he doesn't care about Anatole and he was just following orders. Anatole tries to attack him, but Bjorn is trained and easily overpowers him. An ashamed Anatole walks away while Bjorn says he's willing to change sides because he's fallen for Liesel. Suddenly Anatole screams and the duo finds him deep in quicksand.
Anatole asks them not to help him because he wants to save himself, but Bjorn volunteers anyway and Liesel kisses him. After tying a vine around his body, Bjorn jumps into the quicksand. Anatole passes out and has another afterlife vision, in which he asks God to be cool with slavery. When he wakes up, he discovers Bjorn has saved him.
Anatole wonders how Bjorn passed the polygraph test, so Bjorn explains he was trained to trick it, which is pretty easy. The trio decides to spend the night inside the crashed train and bond over sad stories of their pathetic childhoods. Liesel announces she doesn't want to work with her dad anymore and wants to go back to the church instead. Suddenly someone knocks on the door. It's Sergio and his team who take the trio away in their plane. When they arrive home, the Mother Superior is already there. She tells Liesel that she wasn't destined for the religious life and dismisses her from the convent.
Anatole thanks her by donating some money for church repairs. He also tells her about his visions and wonders if he should be baptized to get a better afterlife. Then he takes Liesl to a safe and makes her take a box left by his father's notary. Anatole never learned what's inside and Liesl promises to open it later.
During dinner, Anatole explains that the other investors will meet at the Desert Palace Hotel for the presentation of the Phoenician scheme, so he has to get a new plan going. This starts with Anatole marrying Hilda and getting baptized so he can officially be Catholic. He hopes that this plus baptizing all his boys will convince the Pope to invest too. Next he makes Bjorn introduce him to Excalibur and Anatole swears on his face that he won't let him win. Later at the hotel, Anatole, Liesel, Bjorn, and Sergio are in the elevator.
Anatole recognizes the operator as an assassin and everyone gets their weapons ready, only for the man to self-delete with poison. Before entering the office, Anatole asks Liesel to let him adopt her if she turns out not to be his daughter, and she says yes. Then they finally meet with Nubar, who turns down Anatole's grenade because he has one already. Nubar explains that Liesel's mother did have an affair with the secretary and that's probably Liesel's real father, but he denies killing her.
An argument ensues between the brothers and Anatole uses the polygraph to prove he didn't kill any of his wives. Liesel opens the box from the safe and finds various things from different members of the family, like pictures, letters, poison gas capsules, her grandfather's ashes, and a key. Then Nubar announces he's quitting the project and only came to the hotel out of curiosity. In the elevator, Anatole tells Liesel and Bjorn that he'll give up all his remaining money to cover the gap and even agrees to pay the slaves, hoping this will give his life meaning. Liesel is proud of him because she doesn't need a fortune.
Anatole announces this during the meeting and is heard by Excalibur through a hidden mic. All the investors sign the paperwork and Anatole shows them a diorama of the project. He's suddenly interrupted by a servant who tells him Nubar is looking for him. So Anatole leaves the meeting. In another room, Nubar tells his brother that he's changed his mind and wants to do it himself. Anatole thinks he means the business deal, however Nubar reveals he's the one who sent the assassins after him before trying to choke Anatole. A fight begins and in the struggle the brothers fall downstairs.
They hit each other with any object they find around and Anatole ends up rolling down the stairs again. Nubar uses the chance to throw one of the poison gas capsules from the box, but it bounces off Anatole's forehead without breaking. Anatole catches it and throws it at his brother before running away. Afterward Anatole returns to the meeting room, only to find Nubar appearing on the diorama. He gets ready to throw a grenade, but Anatole asks him to communicate. Nubar sees flashes of his family and ends up using the grenade to self-delete, which also destroys the diorama.
One last afterlife vision shows Anatole and Liesel putting the ashes back in the safe. Sometime later Anatole is living a humble life with Liesel and all the boys, who are finally getting the family love that they deserve. Bjorn has quit Excalibur's agency and now works at a school. Hilda has annulled her marriage to Anatole and has started her own camp.
Anatole has opened a restaurant and Liesl helps him as a waitress. When Hilda returns the ring, Björn uses it to propose to Liesl. After a long day of work, Anatole and Liesl enjoy their time together playing cards. Liesl hopes that the Phoenician scheme at least provides people with honest work. Make sure to subscribe and turn on notifications so you can watch more videos like this. Thanks for watching.
