The Captain

A corporal from the German Army is separated from his unit and left searching. He finds a neat uniform of a German Army captain and takes to wearing it, with all the responsibilities it carries. As it is April 1945, the scrubbed Nazi world is on the brink of collapse. The Captain rises to make an example of those who are very much like him. Of course, this is a bleak film - in black and white - and there are very few heroes in a country desolated by Hitler's refusal to surrender. The Captain, though, is unmoved as stone though the viewer can see how his fear of discovery makes him shudder in his uniform, how his paralyzed face shows how unfit he is (in a riveting performance by Max Hubacher). The story fits neatly with fact in most ways and the acting and directing are appropriately stilted - the Captain is a man who cannot fathom what he is doing but feels it is in the best interest of the Reich and, more importantly, a way of showing he's a fervent Nazi and not a weak-willed deserter. An excellent film, it shows us what something as simple as a uniform - appearing as someone - can do. As we head into an age of renewed fascism, this movie invites us to explore what lies beneath the surface and entitlement.

This movie is based on actual events in Germany during the end of WWII and concerns a young German soldier and deserter who happens upon a German Officer's uniform in an abandoned vehicle and then impersonates this officer, a Captain. The fake Captain has nowhere to go with his impersonation but to embrace it to the end, wherever that may be, and unfortunately, that happens to be a prison camp for German Army deserters and criminals. The Captain tries to assume command, by declaring that he is on a special mission for the Fuhrer, but German military law is complicated, and the dire situation unfolds whereby German soldiers are executed in a grotesque manner without trial. After the camp is destroyed by the British, the Captain careens into another German town and begins to do the things the German prisoners did - robbery, looting, drinking. However, they are captured by the German military police and it all comes to an end. Some of the things to pay attention to is eye contact when the Captain meets other officers. It's unique in this film. I did see the correct German Military haircut and actual military equipment for WWII. Of course, the theme is dark, being filmed in black and white, and grey skies overhead, and damp soil, which is exactly what April brings in Deutschland. I did like the scene where the director reveals that there is only one brick post remaining of the prison camp, and the land is now a field. There must be a lot of people buried there. The movie is truly about the horrors and chaos of war, and that point was driven home. Overall, very good acting, and a very good movie about one of the darkest periods of world history.

Story-wise yes it's pretty graphic and "brutal", but I found it interesting to tell the story from the perspective of a perpetrator. I've read some of the reviews which I find some to be ridiculous (some clearly don't know how to turn on subtitles and others don't have taste for black & white films). Someone deadass said "Didnt like the black and white look of a movie. We're in the future lol..." - well first of all the story takes place in 1945 so black and white is a perfect choice as well as their decision to go for an older look with the Leica lenses vs Anamorphics. They shot most of the film on the Alexa XT Studio and only the opening scene with the Alexa 65 - due to their lack of funding but I'm glad they shot in color and added the Black & White LUT as well as not trying to fake a "film" look - vs digital. Visually, I thought the framing of the shots were refreshing and was well in favor of the story and characters. There are so many good qualities about the film - visually & storywise - I genuinely thought it was an interesting and beautifully shot film to watch (Don't believe me? Read it's feature cover in the September 2018 ASC magazine). Also its only $3 to rent and watch it... like are people that stingy about the films they watch now?

My Grandfather was a Captain in the Wehrmacht (Eastern Front) and I served in the German Army as well (Bundeswehr of course).I am a real stickler for details when it comes to uniforms, gear etc. ( something most modern day productions conveniently ignore) and have to say, Kudos to the makers. Every detail (at least as far as I can tell ) was spot on. Even his statement of being a German Paratrooper fighting in the battle of Narvik in 1940 is historically correct (not to mention that German Paras where actually part of the Luftwaffe not Army. Hence the Luftwaffe uniform). That alone is refreshing.The story line thought is sobering. After expecting the Private trying to just make it through the madness of the last weeks of war, he turns into something utterly despicable. I don`t want to spoil the movie but his slow change from a desperate young man, tired of fighting a long lost cause, to a real life monster, is not always easy to watch. Towards the end I found myself hoping for someone to catch him and just string him up. A rare emotion for me. Most of the time (especially in modern war mavies) the Germans are so incapable, they couldn`t hit the ocean from the beach with an 8/8 and I find myself rooting for them. Here, a totally different story. It`s the realism of the film that makes it hard to take and the total lack of humanity becomes more and more evident as the movie progresses. But then again, I guess other nations and their forces, have just as many atrocities on the books.The one thing I disliked was the ease with which he fooled the Chaindogs (German word for MPs ). In a real life situation, that would have been a bit more challenging (believe me, we danced with them a couple times).All thing considered, a worthy watch and definitely more realistic than 95 % of WW 2 movies out there.

Based on the true story of the deserter Willi Herold, ‘Der Hauptmann’ tells this tale of a Third Reich, latter-day ‘Captain of Köpenick’ beautifully, capturing all the insanity, depravity and brutality of the last days of the Nazism in Germany. The acting, script, editing, production and cinematography are all flawless: Nothing is allowed to get in the way of the narrative.Unlike most films dealing with similarly grim subject matter (see the excellent ‘Land of Mine’) this production slyly infiltrates a bizarre and subversive ‘gallows humour’ throughout, which not only mocks the ‘Prussian Mentality’ of order-giving and taking and the German preoccupation with bureaucracy and regulations, but also reflects the surreality of the desperate exercise of power under the Nazi rule, particularly as defeat grew ever closer.The portrayal of the pitiless and pitiful brutalisation of the German military’s own soldier-prisoners makes the very salient point that the self-styled Nazi ‘revolution’ also devoured its own children, in particular while it masqueraded as the essence ‘order’ and ‘discipline’ even as it degenerated into barbaric, lawless, brigandage. The film also realistically touched on the wafer-thin ethical divide between victims and perpetrators when people are under extreme duress, and when the urge to survive compromises their own morality to the point of self-destruction which also leads to disastrous results for anyone else in close proximity.The closing sequence is a reminder that these things did happen, can happen again and that Willi Herold is still among us.Jaw-droppingly good, terrifying, and yet strangely funny. A great film.

This film was spoilt for me not least by its lack of attention to detail. Streetlights were blazing at night at a time when there was a total blackout all over Europe except in neutral countries. And interestingly, in an encounter with a stern military police officer who claims never to forget a face, the MP doesn't even notice that the fresh faced teenager 'Captain' not only wears the Narvik shield awarded as early as 1940 on his uniform (when the 'Captain' would have been 14) but also a World War I service ribbon! Why the 'Captain' deserted in the first place is not explained, him being a highly decorated soldier if his uniform is anything to go by. There might have been a reason, but the film does not tell. From subsequent events it could certainly not have been that he was simply tired of the war. His adventures in a concentration camp are hard to believe, the final part with him terrorising a village absurd and even the end credits that begin quite fun end up being unpleasant. There are also two different explanations as to when the 'Captain's' adventures took place; first it says two weeks before the war's end in early May 1945, but later it is two weeks before Hitler's birthday on 20 April. It made me wonder; how much of this film is really based on a true story when it seems the filmmakers ignore simple details which would have been so easy to get right? Have they been just as lax when it comes to researching the story too - it would not surprise me. Others may well overlook all this and lots more and enjoy the film, but for me it is thanks but no thanks.

What happens when a defeated army begins to devour itself. The darker side of all those Sven Hassel novels, I read and loved in my youth. Definitely not for the squeamish.

This is a German film which is both bizarre and disturbing and at times, difficult to watch.The film tells the story of a young German deserter during the final months of WW2. He finds a Captain's uniform and plays the role of that rank.It is a study of how absolute power corrupts absolutely. It also shows how ordinary people can become cold blooded, sadistic killers in certain circumstances.The disc has both a black and white version as well as a version in colour. I feel the black and white version is more sinister and disturbing than the full colour version.The movie is in German with English subtitles.For me, the most disturbing element of this film is that it is based on a true story.

This dvd is very interesting the only thing is that it is in German with English subtitles,(which was disappointing).On ordering this dvd "The Captain" I did not notice that it was spoken in German and had English subtitles.