Trama

A boy learns the black arts from an evil sorcerer.

1648. After the Thirty Years War, Germany is a wretched, plundered land, still ravished by the Black Death. Urchin Krabat gets separated from his beggar friends and finds refuge on the flourishing estate of the black miller. the hard worker gets initiated in his secret magic society. Only afterward he learns its terrible dark secrets, which spell death and/or solitude for the boys and their beloved village girls. A surprising friend offers a daring way out.—KGF Vissers

"Krabat" is based on the German novel of the same name by Otfried Preußler.

When the Plague sweeps across Europe, a young man named Krabat (David Kross of "The Reader") is left without family, food, or hope. An old Mill Keeper takes him in offering the basic necessities in exchange for grueling hard work with other young men. An excursion with fellow worker, Tonda (Daniel Brühl of "Inglorious Basterds") leads to a chance meeting with a pretty girl in the nearby village and affections grow. A veil of secrecy remains shrouded over the mill. Eventually, after proving his obedience, Krabat learns that the Mill Keeper holds them all there with something more seductive than food and shelter. The boys are being trained in the dark art of sorcery. The magic is intoxicating and gives Krabat his first taste of real power.

As he is taken into the fold, Tonda warns him, "Everything in this world has its price". He discovers that to be involved in the magic at the mill one must have no outside friends, no girlfriends, and no choices beyond what the Master chooses for you. As the magic becomes increasingly dark and more secrets are revealed, Krabat tries to escape only to discover too late he can never leave.

There is one small hope but if Krabat fails it will not only be the end for him but all he cares for.