This is a surprising movie. Th is poorly advertised/promoted movie delivers good script, acting and the camera work is A1. The movie is based on a true story of a low ranking German soldier who assumes the rank of a Captain and goes on a murderous rampage enlisting similar rogues to help him achieve it. While the actual historic criminal acts of murder are depicted in the movie, the graphic nature of it is not really thrown in your face. You can fill in the blanks. In authenticity, this movie is way up there. Uniforms, weapons and vehicles are all in line with the era.

When you see artillery and aerial bomb explosions in this movie, what is depicted is the same as actual artillery and aerial bombing of that time. They did a fine job replicating it..

The movie draws you in and it is gripping to say the least. I give it a solid 8 stars.

"Der Hauptmann" or "The Captain" is a new German 2-hour movie that premiered back in 2017, but was only released days ago to general audiences here in Germany. After making films in Hollywood for roughly 15 years and working with big names like Willis, Freeman, Malkovich and Bridges, this one is writer and director Robert Schwentke's (temporary?) return to Germany. The film with the exception of one shot is entirely in black-and-white and in my opinion, that was a good decision. The main character is played by Max Hubacher, an actor I was not too familiar until now, but he does a fine job given the fact thatg he is in basically every scene of the film. Fehling, Lau and Peschel are among Germany's most known at this point and they all play supporting characters. I must say though that the significance intended for Lau's and Peschel's characters was not really executed in a satisfying manner. Fehling does well with what he was given, even if it is not too much. This film plays during the final days of World War II and the consequence of this taking place in the battlefield and military, female characters are almost completely non-existent here. Not a problem though. The film shines through authenticity, shocking but realistic moments and eventually as a really good character study that goes way beyond the main character. The pair of Jewish entertainers in the last third of the film is another example of fine depictin and writing in terms of how differently their paths go. Guilt is a dominant subject here from start to finish and the question when evil is justified is a crucial one here all the time. Which of his actions are agreeable from the perspective that they saved his life or at least helped in saving his life? Which of his actions are just as despicable and undefendable as the ones by his tormentors? Everybody will have a different opinion on that I''m sure. i also liked the film's audio side. It was never in your face, but still elevated the material. The actors were almost all good and it is a successful return for Schwentke (the year he turns 50) without a doubt proving once more that the subject of WWII is still possible to produce quality movies even with the hundreds already existing about this darkest hour in European history of the 20th century. You just need to bring the talent creativity and approach. You could probably argue that what you see in here is not too realistic given the fact that it is all done by such a young man and how could they all be this stupid to fall for him. But then again, the one thing that destroys this argument is that it is based on real facts, a real character and to some extent all this really happened. And it is not as if he is depicted as the new messiah, that absolutely everybody falls for him: He has several antagonists in here who may believe his story, but still aren't ready to accept his authority. And that makes the watch even better, even more realistic. It was easy to care for the characters in here, to wonder what's going to happen to them next. At least for me and the longer the film went, the more curious I became if Herold would live or die. Well, it was something in-between then I guess. It is definitely impressive that this film never really dragged despite how long it is. I recommend the watch to everybody with an interest in this historic era. In my opinion this film is a success and I'm glad I saw it.

Well maybe "knew it" would be better ... but that would not be as close to the song as I had in mind. Just a little nugget/hint/joke I like to make with my summary lines. Not that this is a comedy - most German movies are either known as romantic comedies/dramas or have the second world war as a topic - this obviously being the latter.

This has an intersting twist with a character assuming a position and power grab, that will run throughout the movie. War is not a game and what it does with people (especially when they get into a position of power) is shown here very vividly. Very well played and acted (mostly in black and white nonetheless). If you don't have issues with the subject matter and the symbols shown, the movie might be something you want to watch. Interesting take to say the least.