Saviors in the Night (2009)
"Unter Bauern" (original title)

Based on the memories of Marga Spiegel. In her narrative, published in 1965, she describes how courageous farmers in southern Munsterland hid her, her husband Siegfried and their little ... See full summary »

Director:

Ludi Boeken

Writers:

Otto Jägersberg (screenplay), Imo Moszkowicz (screenplay),

Stars:

Veronica Ferres, Armin Rohde, Lia Hoensbroech

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Veronica Ferres	...	Marga Spiegel
Armin Rohde	...	Siegmund 'Menne' Spiegel
Lia Hoensbroech	...	Anni Aschoff
Martin Horn	...	Heinrich Aschoff
Margarita Broich	...	Frau Aschoff
Luisa Mix	...	Karin Spiegel
Tjard Krusius	...	Emmerich Aschoff
Kilian Schüler	...	Florian Aschoff
Marlon Kittel	...	Klemens Aschoff
Veit Stübner	...	Pentrop
Daniel Flieger	...	Erich Reimann
Nicole Unger	...	Josefa Schwester
Anna Ehrichlandwehr	...	Großmutter Aschoff
Smadi Wolfman	...	Frau Albermann
Lina Beckmann	...	Paula Wacker

Storyline

Based on the memories of Marga Spiegel. In her narrative, published in 1965, she describes how courageous farmers in southern Munsterland hid her, her husband Siegfried and their little daughter Karin from 1943 until 1945, thus saving them from deportation to the extermination camps in the East.. Without reservation, the farmers offer the refugees their protection. That this turns them into heroes would never occur to them. They are used to weathering even dangerous situations somehow, guided only by their instinct and century-old code of ethics. They risk their own lives, and, if necessary, even that of their families. There is never a discussion about friendship, reliability, humanity.

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [de] Official site [fr]

Country:

Germany France

Language:

German French English

Release Date:

16 December 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Saviors in the Night

Filming Locations:

Dülmen, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

FilmForm Köln, Acajou Films, 3L Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Effective realism

This film is a screen adaptation of the memoir of a German Holocaust survivor and, except for the opening and closing scenes is a straightforward narrative, chronicling the family's experiences during the period following their narrow escape from deportation eastward to a concentration camp from which they know there is no return.

The first scene sets up the back story of the end of WWI, when the Jewish horse trader and German farmer serve their country and are awarded the Iron Cross for valor. A narrative voice explains the central irony of military service being rewarded by country that would later persecute or exterminate its heroes.

The farmer's family faces conflicting loyalties -- a son who goes off to war on the Eastern Front at the same time as the parents take in the horse traders wife and daughter, along with various other displaced persons; a daughter in the first blush of romance with a Nazi activist and his cause. The Jewish husband and wife, meanwhile, suffer the separation and perils of an assumed identity (in the case of the wife and daughter) and isolation, hiding, constant vigilance (in the case of the husband).

This film invites the viewer to live through these events with the family, and never over-dramatizes - which may account for the lack of enthusiasm of younger viewers. But the performances have much psychological depth as well as a ring of truth in all its scenes.