Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Germany, 1945. Soldier Willi Herold, a deserter of the German army, stumbles into a uniform of Nazi captain abandoned during the last and desperate weeks of the Third Reich. Newly emboldened by the allure of a suit that he has stolen only to stay warm, Willi discovers that many Germans will follow the leader, whoever he is.
Der Hauptmann is a chilling, bracingly original wartime moral study. Robert Schwentke shoots in stark black-and-white to devastating effect, and Max Hubacher's transformation from terrified deserter to sociopathic impostor is extraordinarily compelling. The film's premise — based on a true story — is inherently remarkable, and its execution matches that premise with surgical precision. The cinematography is exceptional, evoking both period newsreels and expressionist unease. The plot escalates with horrifying momentum. The ending, while deliberately unsettling with its meta-theatrical coda, is slightly less cohesive than the film's rigorous build-up, feeling mildly self-conscious in its Brechtian commentary, preventing it from landing with the full force the rest of the film earns.