The Captain ★★★½
GERMAN director Robert Schwentke’s search is over.
After a promising couple of first films in his native language, he began a Hollywood career in 2005 with the conventional thriller Flightplan starring Jodie Foster.
Since then he has struggled to settle into a prefered genre, bouncing between comedy, drama, romance, action and science-fiction. The darkly comic, anti-war drama The Captain provides his answer.
Filmed in stark black and white in his native tongue, this 2018 release is a thought-provoking examination of the capacity of human beings to be manipulated and corrupted, set against the backdrop of Germany during the final days of the Second World War.
It’s based on the true story of Willi Herold, a young infantryman whose impersonation of an officer ultimately led to devastating consequences for both himself and many others.
We meet Herold in April 1945, running through a field with a bunch of soldiers in a truck in pursuit and shooting at him. He evades capture and we assume he is a deserter.
There are many deserters and looters around at the time – on both sides – trying to survive as the German war effort descends into chaos. At the same time there are officers still hanging on to the final vestibules of hope that the situation will turn around and unthinking troops still prepared to follow orders.
Herold comes across a bogged vehicle and dresses himself in a Luftwaffe Captain’s uniform taken from a suitcase found in the back seat. Another deserter, Freytag, finds him and immediately asks to be The Captain’s driver.
Freytag may or may not suspect from the outset that The Captain is a fraud, or even a fellow deserter, but he is willing to accept that the circumstances may enable both mens’ survival.
The fraud grows and becomes complicated as Herold ends up at a camp where looters and deserters, mainly German, are being held awaiting trial. Rival camp commanders are in dispute over whether to execute the prisoners and Herold is drawn into becoming a version of judge, jury and executioner.
As his power and influence grows within the microcosm of the camp, Herold starts to lose any sense of control over his own morality and humanity, mirroring the wider conflict that has seen an entire population turn against itself.
In their increasing desperation, Herold, Gefrieder, other officers and even the deserters demonstrate they are prepared to do anything required to personally survive, including murdering fellow human beings.
The Captain is a compelling film in both the themes explored and visual story-telling with many haunting scenes made more stark and harrowing through Florian Ballhaus’ monochrome cinematography.
Initially the film appears to be a stright drama but moves slowly further into black comedy territory before taking a final bleak turn into the heart of darkness and grim, anti-war messages with a stunning final scene.
Commanding the screen at almost every moment is young Swiss actor Max Hubacher who presents a realistic portrayal of the underlying weakness of the human spirit. Hubacher can also be seen as another real-life figure, the complex and disturbed marathon competitor in Marathon Runner from the same year.