Cell No. 12 at the prison of Saint Lazare in Paris

The evening of October 14, 1917, Mata Hari is awaiting her execution in Cell No. 12. The short but intense life of the most

brilliant dancer at the beginning of the 20th century is nearing its end. She knows: she is convicted by a world ruled by

men and the espionage charges against her are false. Emancipation and freedom for women in this world is only a fragile

dream. She smiles at the thought that the day will come when the world will find her innocent. But this will happen only

when people are free to follow their hearts without fear, as she did. Mata Hari closes her eyes and her mind starts to go

back in time.

McLeod’s home in Java, Indonesia

Margeretha Geertruida Zelle, Mata Hari’s real name, married Dutch Colonial Army Officer Rudolf McLeod. They had a son

and a daughter, but someone with a grudge poisoned the children and only the daughter Louise survived. Her thoughts

go back to her time in Java, where her marriage broke up but a new life began.

A dinner with officers

After a heated argument with McLeod, Mata Hari has to accompany her husband to a dinner party with his corrupt

fellow officers. During the dinner, a beautiful performance by Javanese dancers and a young charming officer fascinate

her. McLeod leaves the scene with others, and Mata Hari and the young man leave the group and dance together by

themselves. At that moment, she at last feels the kindness and gentle love she so desperately wants. But the officer’s

wife interrupts them in a fit of jealousy. She becomes violent in fear of her husband leaving her and finally takes a small

gun from her purse and shoots herself. Mata Hari sees it as a warning and realizes that she would be the next victim of

the tormenting life if she stays there.

McLeod’s home

Mata Hari returns home in tears to find her husband already drunk and agitated. The image of the dead woman never

leaves her mind. However, McLeod does not show any interest in what she is saying and the conversation leads to a

heated, violent fight. She decides to escape from that life, but when she tries to take her daughter with her, her husband

warns that she would never see her again if she leaves.

Paris, France

Mata Hari no longer wants to stay in Java and decides to leave with whatever small amount of money she can scrape

together and win over Paris, the most beloved city of Europe. A new life in Paris would be an exciting adventure. Safely

ensconced in its reputation as Europe’s center of art, the most creative and talented people in the world are assembled

there. Mata Hari meets new people and forges new friendships, and one of them, Maitre Clunet, a lawyer, will stick by her

till her end. Paris’ high society always craves novelty, and Mata Hari concocts an alluring story about herself that piques

people’s curiosity. The news that a unique and exotic dancer has come to Paris spreads.

At the backstage of a theater

Gabriel Astruc is a journalist, agent, promoter, and theatre manager, and he had a hand in many of the most notable

performances and personalities of Belle Epoque Paris. He attends ballet rehearsals in search of inspiration. He wants

to discover and promote a new talent. Clunet arranges an audition to introduce Mata Hari to Astruc, and Astruc is

immediately bewitched by her never-before-seen dance and unique charm. He choses her as his new artist without

hesitation.

Museum Guimet

Mata Hari’s debut performance with the dance of the veils is a huge success. She becomes a star overnight, and Astruc

offers to represent her and promises her a splendid career. Cell No.12 is too cold for her to look back on such days.

Freedom and success were the reasons she ends up there that night.

Recalling the “winds of war” in Cell No. 12

Mata Hari performed at the Museum Guimet on March 13, 1905. As Mata Hari made her career and the Belle Epoque

was at its height, German Emperor Wilhelm II was already conducting war games in preparation for what would become

the First World War. When conflict finally does break out, Germany invades other countries according to the Schlieffen

Plan already devised in 1905.

A palace in Paris

Mata Hari wakes up from the nightmare and finds herself on the cold floor. She resents the war, which destroyed her

perfect world. Her lover Xavier Rousseau, a banker, appears and asks her to follow him. Her thoughts go back to a night

when she presents her newest show in a great ballroom in Paris. Astruc, Clunet, and Rousseau are there as well as George

Ladoux of the French secret service, who will one day become her worst tormentor. That night, she also meets a young

Russian officer, Vladimir Maslov, the man who will became her true love. Soon, German intelligence officer Hans Von Kalle

joins them. Kalle will later make the French military believe that Mata Hari is a double agent.

The bedroom

The show is over. All Mata Hari can think about is Maslov, but she spends the night with Rousseau. He is deeply in love

with her and spoils her as much as he can. A mansion in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the suburbs of Paris, is the next gift for her.

Ballets Russes

Having gained fame all over Europe, Mata Hari asks Astruc to arrange to meet Sergei Diaghilev, the Ballets Russes’

impresario when the company performs in Paris. Enthralled by the performance of Tamara Karsavina and Vaslav Nijinsky

in the ballet Scheherazade, she ardently wishes to meet Diaghilev. Backstage, she meets Nijinsky for a brief and magical

moment, but Astruc comes with the bad news that Diaghilev does not want to see her. A following dispute with Rousseau,

who has come to comfort her, becomes the reason of their break-up. That night, Mata hari smiles as Maslov comes to the

theater to meet his compatriots and approaches her backstage. Sparks fly between them. He reminds her of the young

officer she met in Java, and she feels she can love him more than anyone. While recalling the dark past, the morning sun

penetrates between the doors of her cell. This is not a time to die yet; she still has a life to live, things to say, and things

to hope for.