The Turncoat (2020)
3.5 of 5 from 45 ratings
2h 57min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Summer of 1944, Walter a young German recruit is being posted to the Eastern front in a desperate effort for Germany to ward off the advancing Soviet troops. Boarding a German military supply train on route to reach his battalion he encounters a beautiful and mysterious young Polish woman named Wanda who is a stowaway, the two have an instant connection but when SS soldiers board the train looking for partisans she jumps off and flees into countryside. Shortly after, Walters train is blown off the rails by partisans. Walter (Jannis Niewöhner) is the sole survivor, and he must now struggle on to locate his garrison. Walter then stumbles across a motley crew of soldiers assigned to protect the communication lines from the local well organised resistance. He is ordered to join their unit and is submitted to the increasingly absurd and sadistic orders of his new superior officer. The battle lines are blurred here, and Walter and his new unit face a near-invisible enemy comprised of freedom fighters and snipers. By chance Walter discovers one of these is Wanda, the girl from the train. Despite the huge dangers involved Walter and Wanda embark on a passionate love affair. Walter also befriends a fellow soldier who tries to convince him in the belief that Hitler has betrayed the German people, making Walter also question his own loyalties to the Reich. A drastic turn of events impact on him when the Russians break through the front line and Walter is captured. As a prisoner of war, he must now fight to survive the harsh conditions. Walter's health is deteriorating fast, and his position is becoming hopeless. By chance, his life is saved when his old unit friend who has recently defected to the Soviet Army spots him and gets him medical attention. Upon restoring his strength Walter now feels pressurised into joining the Red Army to ensure his own survival and to also help bring an end to the failing Reich. But the reality of being forced into the looming battle front to fight his former comrades is a heavy burden he must now face. Walter's only hope is to find a way to escape as he now risks being exposed from both sides. - Actors:
- Jannis Niewöhner, Malgorzata Mikolajczak, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Rainer Bock, Bjarne Mädel, Katharina Schüttler, Leonie Benesch, Marek Solek, Shenja Lacher, Florian Lukas, Mathias Herrmann, Adam Venhaus, Alexander Beyer, Ulrich Tukur, Jochen Nickel, Janusz Cichocki, Wieslaw Zanowicz, Holger Handtke, Stefan Murr, Katrin Röver
- Directors:
- Florian Gallenberger
- Writers:
- Bernd Lange, Florian Gallenberger, Siegfried Lenz
- Aka:
- Der Überläufer / Turncoat / The Defector
- Genres:
- Drama
- Countries:
- Germany
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