DER HAUPTMANN

Later this year, Robert Schwentke will return to German-language filmmaking for a true-life story set during the final days of the Second World War when anarchy and arbitrary murder prevail as the demoralized Wehrmacht hunted down any soldier separated from his company as a potential deserter and traitor. While escaping from the patrols through the bleak Ems estuary, 19-year-old private Willi Herold discovers the abandoned uniform of a highly decorated Luftwaffe captain. Now masquerading as ’Captain Herold’, Willi gathers soldiers around him to complete an imaginary assignment allegedly given by Hitler himself — and reveals an unexpectedly dark side to his character...

Max Hubacher (photo © Filmgalerie 451)