After spending the last decade and a half in Hollywood creating abysmal blockbusters like R.I.P.D and two instalments in the Divergent series, writer/director Robert Schwentke returns to his native Germany to bring us one of the most profound yet gruesome anti-war films.
The Captain is based on the true story of Willi Herold (Max Hubacher), a 19-year old German paratrooper who abandoned his post in the last weeks of the Second World War.
On the run from German soldiers who are hell-bent on finding deserters, Herold stumbles upon an abandoned officer’s vehicle, wherein he finds a captain’s uniform. Almost immediately after donning the uniform to keep warm, Herold is found by a soldier named Private Walter Freytag (Milan Peschel), who begins obeying Herold’s every command, believing him to be a high-ranking officer. Realising the power he now has thanks to the uniform, he begins gathering other deserters he finds wandering the countryside and organises them into his own ragtag unit. Through a series of lies including being sent on a special mission by the Führer himself, Herold takes charge of a prison camp which is overflowing with deserters. What follows is a series of events so bloodthirsty and cruel, they would earn Herold the nickname the Executioner of Emslan.
Shot in stunning black and white, The Captain is a horrifying examination of the power of authority, its corruptive nature and why so many people blindly follow it.
The unflinching violence depicted throughout the film is harrowing with nightmarish moments like a mass execution using an anti-aircraft gun which burn themselves into your memory.
A blood-soaked retelling of a bizarre yet terrifying true story, The Captain is easily one of the best films of the year.
The Captain is currently screening as part of the German Film Festival at Palace Nova Eastend and Prospect.
Reviewed by Jordan Ellis.
A real-life horror story 5 stars
More News
