Synopsis for the Feature Length Animated Film Corto Maltèse: La Cour Secrète Des Arcanes (Corto Maltese: The Arcanes Secret Court)

"Ten days that shook the world." These were the prophetic words that American journalist John Reed used to describe the shattering events of the 1917 Russian Revolution. Reed is just one of the many historical figures that Corto Maltese counts among his friends. In 1918, as civil war rages in Russia, the tension rises further to the east between the Urals and Shanghai. The momentous upheaval stirs powerful social and political currents. Caught between a desire to save what is left of the old Russia and the need to protect themselves, former generals, secret societies and greedy mercenaries confront each other in a rush to exploit the chaotic circumstances. In such an unstable environment, people desperately look to oracles for answers, and don't hesitate to kill at the slightest provocation. Against this turbulent background, Corto joins up with his old accomplice Rasputin in an attempt to snatch the Czar's gold, which Admiral Kolchak hopes to use to finance his war and overthrow the Bolsheviks. On the way, Corto encounters several Chinese secret societies, a Russian duchess as charming as she is perverse, a man who believes himself the very incarnation of Genghis Khan, an American aviator, and a host of scheming generals.

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