Der Unhold

From Volker Schlöndorff, the esteemed director of The Legend Of Rita, The Tin Drum, Swann In Love, and Death Of A Salesman, comes The Ogre, a startling view on fascism and its peculiar appeal. With his extraordinary eye for haunting imagery, and his deep understanding of the horrors of Nazism, Schlöndorff creates the epic odyssey of a childlike man inserted into a world of evil he can't comprehend. Featuring a stunning performance by John Malkovich (Time Regained, Being John Malkovich), The Ogre is a grotesque fairy tale about Hitler's Germany in which a naïve mechanic comes to symbolize the seductive appeal of the Nazi regime. Abel is a French orphan who believes he is a "magical creature." As a reclusive adult (played by Malkovich), he soon finds that children are his only friends, but when one girl accuses him of molesting her, he is imprisoned and branded a monster. Abel is offered redemption by entering the army on the eve of World War II. It's the beginning of a journey that will take him from Hermann Goering's private hunting estate to a school for Hitler Youth. In addition to the always compelling Malkovich, The Ogre features Armin Mueller-Stahl Shine, and the work of some of Europe's most distinguished film craftsmen. A score by the innovative Michael Nyman (The Piano) gives the film both wit and scope. The Ogre, which ends with a firestorm battle that is one of the last of the war, is a glorious-looking production that Kino is proud to present here for the first time on video, and in letterboxed format.