This is a film set in World War II, and although it is about more than 70 years ago, the content is too shocking, more terrifying than a horror movie
In April 1945, two weeks before Hitler committed suicide.
Germany is losing ground, the Allies are about to hit Berlin, and the battlefield is full of corpses and flesh and blood... The Germans knew that the Nazis were dying.
On this day, a German soldier quietly fled the barracks. ‘
His name was Herold, he was 19 years old, and he had only one thought: to live.
Being a deserter was a capital offense, so he was hunted down and killed and strafed.
Fortunately, Herold had a big life, ran all the way, and actually escaped the pursuit...
Herold was like a street rat, hiding around, and when he was about to be overwhelmed, he found a discarded jeep.
The owner of the car did not know where to go, leaving only a pile of documents and a military uniform. Herold recognized at a glance that it was the rank of captain.
He changed into a military uniform sharply, the clothes were a little big, the trouser legs were a little long, but after changing, it was still like that, handsome and straight.
What Herold did not expect was that from the moment he put on this uniform, his life had undergone earth-shaking changes: the lost dog had transformed into "Captain Herold".
The soldiers saw him with great respect, the villagers met him, served him fragrant meals, some people dressed and undressed for him, some people treated him as a "human flesh tire"...
Relying on this uniform, he deceived countless people along the way, successfully blended into the German army, and became a high-ranking official.
He calmly bragged and played with prestige, cursing, beating, raping, killing... Gradually, Herold found that the uniform was getting more and more fit, and could no longer take it off...
This "Fake Captain" was released in Germany in March this year, and currently has a Douban score of 8.4 and IMDb 7.5. Won the Best Cinematography Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Some netizens commented: Although more than seventy years have passed since World War II, Germans have been reflecting on this unbearable past with a atonement mentality. And this film wants to express not only the events of more than seventy years ago, but also the events of today and the future.
The film picture is black and white, making the story description more cold and cruel, and closer to the reality of the World War II period.
And the terrible thing is that the "Captain Herold" in this movie has a real prototype.
On the eve of the German surrender, there was really such a demon, nicknamed: the Emsran executioner.
His name was Willie Herold and he was the son of a construction worker.
On April 3, 1945 (another theory is March 1945), before he found the officer's clothes, he swept the chimney, served as an apprentice, served in the military, served as a deserter...
Like the millions of ordinary soldiers during World War II, his life was not worth much.
But when he became a "captain," everything was different. Herold no longer needed to hide, no longer need to work, and no longer needed to go to the front.
Pretending to be under the direct command of Supreme Fuehrer Hitler, Herold turned a prison camp for German deserters into a hell on earth, and Herold slaughtered and used unimaginable torture on his compatriots.
Over the course of eight days, he tortured and killed more than 100 prisoners, several of whom, according to him, were stabbed to death with a knife by his own hands.
In addition, he "executed" 1 peasant with a white flag, and 5 foreigners... He killed 125 people in just two weeks.
No one could have imagined that this young man, who was less than 20 years old, would be so brutal, and no one dared to imagine what would happen if he were to be a captain for another period of time.
When ordinary people can decide the fate of others, they become uncontrollably extremely vicious and cruel.
In the movie, when Herold first changed into the captain's uniform, there was still a trace of humanity in his heart.
The first time he killed, he trembled with fear and closed his eyes. Seeing the corpses of civilians, he was furious, pitiful, and covered them with a worn-out blanket.
But after a few days, the young man was able to calmly order his men to bury them alive.
He could calmly watch the machine gun shoot the prisoners, and even watch with great interest as they killed each other.
He also played a game of killing, tying several deserters together with ropes, telling them to run forward, and saying: Whoever can run away I will let anyone die.
Then, these poor people who were tied together were shot one after another, and the survivors dragged the bodies of their compatriots in horror and continued to run forward...
And Herold's heart is clear that these people are no different from their own a few days ago, they just want to live.
What kind of force turns a victim into an abuser, a humble and cowardly person into a fierce bully, a group of equal people into opposing people...
This power is: unconstrained power.