There are only a few period wartime stories told around events in the occupied Kingdom of Norway, and this is one of the better efforts. Sir Cedric Hardwicke is the Nazi colonel sent to supervise a small town that exists to support a nearby iron-ore mine. A sophisticate, of sorts, he initially attempts to deal reasonably with the townspeople led by their Mayor (Henry Travers) but soon realises that these people are not the type to sit idly by, sabotage soon becomes rife - and a battle of wills - and philosophies - ensues. It has some subtly to it, both Hardwicke and Peter van Eyck ("Lt. Tonder") demonstrate some degree of humanity from the occupier's perspective, and both Travers and Lee J. Cobb ("Dr. Winter") deliver well as the peaceful, elderly, men who do not consider themselves to be brave, but they are proud and are determined to see off their murderous guests - even if it costs them their lives. It is plausible, which helps enormously, and the pace from Irving Pichel draws us into their ghastly predicament well. Made mid-WWII, it has a slight tinge of propaganda to it, but the characters have an element of authenticity about them that makes this a decidedly more nuanced watch than many of it's time.
Au revoir les enfants tells a heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss concerning two boys living in Nazi-occupied France. At a provincial Catholic boarding school, the precocious youths enjoy true camaraderie—until a secret is revealed. Based on events from writer-director Malle’s own childhood, the film is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening.
An elderly man tells his granddaughter his personal story of the Second World War. His life as a child and all the strange characters he populates it with takes the little girl to a bizarre world she doesn't understand.
After Fred von Bergen, a German immigrant in America, is forced from his job by anti-German hysteria before the first world war, he and his friend Bob Wilson leave America and join the German air force. There, both men fall in love with ambulance driver Alida Hoffman. When America enters the war, Bob is caught between loyalty to his home country and the threat of execution for desertion and treason to Germany. It remains for his friend Fred to extricate him from the dilemma - but at what cost?
In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike's estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.
In nineteenth-century Łódź, Poland, three friends want to make a lot of money by building and investing in a textile factory. An exceptional portrait of rapid industrial expansion is shown through the eyes of one Polish town.
A gently humorous look at otherness and xenophobia in modern day German with this tale of a black Berlin teen named Leroy who rediscovers his roots after falling for a pretty white girl and meeting her racist family.
The Roth family leads a quiet life in a small village in the German Alps during the early 1930s. After the Nazis come to power, the family is divided and Martin Breitner, a family friend, is caught up in the turmoil.
When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat.
1943. They have never stepped foot on French soil but because France was at war, Said, Abdelkader, Messaoud and Yassir enlist in the French Army, along with 130,000 other “indigenous” soldiers, to liberate the “fatherland” from the Nazi enemy. Heroes that history has forgotten…
In 1943, as Hitler continues to wage war across Europe, a group of college students mount an underground resistance movement in Munich. Dedicated expressly to the downfall of the monolithic Third Reich war machine, they call themselves the White Rose. One of its few female members, Sophie Scholl is captured during a dangerous mission to distribute pamphlets on campus with her brother Hans. Unwavering in her convictions and loyalty to the White Rose, her cross-examination by the Gestapo quickly escalates into a searing test of wills as Scholl delivers a passionate call to freedom and personal responsibility.
In an apocalyptic future world, a young upper class couple is visiting an exhibition of surrealistic paintings, presented by a group of young anarchists in their loft flat where they trap and torture their high society guests.