Der Hauptmann

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 was a fascinating watch. Watching, the young paratrooper Wili Herold get in over his head and essentially begin BSing his way to the top was as an entertaining watch for me as it was disturbing.

Though the film is incredible in its presentation and acting, it still has its flaws. Upon finishing the film packed full of war crimes and human disparity, I left it feeling like I had taken nothing from it after its shocking scenes. The Captain has essentially no moral or messages to showcase beyond just telling a story of a power-hungry monster and the overtones of Nazi cruelty. It didn't feel like there was any methodology to the madness. If thats what people are looking for when watching this movie then by all means. However for me, I feel like there are plenty more substantial films that do what The Captain sets out to and better, with some greater substance.

The film revolves around authority, the trust we tend to have towards a person we endow with authority, official ranks, hierarchy, "Kameradschaft", the sense of belonging to a group, and (for me at least), egoism in general. It is also quite brutal and sadistic. The story itself, with the most improbable twists, is taken from a real life story at the end of the war. It is rare in war films to have the perspective of the criminal. We do not sympathise with him, but rather he impersonates the beast in every one of us. Another merit of the film is quite natural: German actors can of course impersonate German soldiers better than for example US ones, it also gives a realistic touch to the film as opposed to US war movies featuring evil nazis. The message of the film was for me clear and delivered with a great impression - I will not write it here as it would be flat in my words.

Germany, April 1945. WW2 in Europe is almost over, resulting in mass desertions and disorder in German ranks. One deserter, Willi Herold, is on the run when he comes across the abandoned uniform of a Luftwaffe captain. Impersonating a captain he gathers together a rag tag group who assume the role of an anti-deserter/looter task force. Things come to a head when he is given responsibility for a camp where deserters, looters etc are detained, with dire consequences.

Interesting WW2 drama, based on a true story. Quite novel in that it doesn't involve any confrontation with the enemy (well, except for one scene): the struggle is all internal. Also covers areas of WW2 that don't get much attention: the post-apocalyptic-like final days of Nazi Germany, the treatment of deserters etc and this series of events in particular.

Plot is reasonably engaging, though a bit too drawn out. It could also have been more powerful: despite the events portrayed it really didn't feel that gritty or shocking. Everything just seems to happen, sometimes as if in slow motion. Maybe that's the effectiveness of the film: by the time you reach the critical moments you've become desensitised to all the killing, anarchy and atrocities. Still, it felt a bit flat to me.

Great performance by Max Hubacher in the lead role. Solid supporting cast.

Worth watching for a different angle on WW2. Not a must-see though.

An interesting movie for 2 main reasons: 1) it shows the fragilities of the Nazi Germany towards the end of the war, with many German soldiers deserting the army (something nobody talks about) and 2) it shows the depths of the human ego and the decadence of character when power is given arbitrarily