In this horrifying true story, a German deserter poses as a Luftwaffe captain and presides over the slaughter of prisoners
Here is a nightmare from the German home front in April 1945, collapsing into horror and chaos with the looming reality of imminent defeat. It’s a movie with echoes of Günter Grass’s The Tin Drum or Ralf Rothmann’s To Die in Spring – written and directed by Robert Schwentke, a veteran of commercial Hollywood fare who has gone back to basics with this brutally stark picture, shot by Florian Ballhaus in a crystalline black-and-white: a look inspired, perhaps, by Spielberg’s Schindler’s List.
The drama is based on the bizarre true story of Willi Herold, a German deserter who while on the run chanced upon a Luftwaffe captain’s uniform, dressed up in it and with extraordinary effrontery and cunning played on Germany’s cringing fear of authority...
Here is a nightmare from the German home front in April 1945, collapsing into horror and chaos with the looming reality of imminent defeat. It’s a movie with echoes of Günter Grass’s The Tin Drum or Ralf Rothmann’s To Die in Spring – written and directed by Robert Schwentke, a veteran of commercial Hollywood fare who has gone back to basics with this brutally stark picture, shot by Florian Ballhaus in a crystalline black-and-white: a look inspired, perhaps, by Spielberg’s Schindler’s List.
The drama is based on the bizarre true story of Willi Herold, a German deserter who while on the run chanced upon a Luftwaffe captain’s uniform, dressed up in it and with extraordinary effrontery and cunning played on Germany’s cringing fear of authority...
- 9/19/2018
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.