188 minutes of German bureaucracy deciding a man's fate. Riveting or torture? You decide.
Russian soldier Grisha escapes from a German prisoner-of-war camp in the spring of 1917. He is caught and is to be shot as a spy. This decision is controversial. The dispute continues. Grisha is executed on the orders of the army high command.
Acting
Karlík's Grischa: dignity in the face of institutional stupidity.
Direction
Schiemann stretches tension like a rubber band near snapping.
Production
Claustrophobic sets that trap you with the prisoners.
Director
Helmut Schiemann
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Adapted from Arnold Zweig's 1927 novel, a landmark of German Jewish humanist literature later banned by Nazis.
Made in East Germany (DEFA) during Prague Spring—its critique of militarism carried dangerous contemporary weight.
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