Intrigue

In 1913, the world is about to be radically transformed. Soon, millions of men will march, singing, into the trenches. At this moment of feverish anticipation, Peter from Latvia - who always claims his name is Hans - is roaming around Europe. He starts out as a simple doorman in Riga, but becomes embroiled in the revolutionary plans of communists, anarchists, proto-fascists and nationalists. His odyssey through Europe leads him to the 'Lebensreform' community at Monte Verità in Switzerland, and to imperial Vienna. He is shot at and forced to commit murder, has a romance with the spy Mata Hari and is psychoanalysed by Sigmund Freud.—Jakkepoes

In 1913, the world is about to be radically transformed. Soon, millions of men will march, singing, into the trenches. On the precipice of the monumental events leading up to WWI, a young Latvian man named Peter (Petr Buchta) - but who claims to be called Hans - travels around Europe with little apparent purpose. Beginning as a doorman in Riga, he is unexpectedly embroiled in a series of bizarre events that place him at the dead-centre of political warfare of a number of emerging and defiant forces, falling into the literal and ideological crossfire of anarchists, communists and nationalists alike. Peter's unpredictable, often absurd and sometimes tragic journey takes him through the untamed wilderness of Central Europe, ultimately bound for Vienna via the radical Lebensreform wellness community at Monte Verita in Switzerland. He is shot at and forced to commit murder, has a romance with the spy Mata Hari and is psychoanalysed by Sigmund Freud. Meanwhile, more notorious figures of the early twentieth-century send his journey towards more violent revolutions, conducting Peter to commit a series of life-changing acts that alter the course of history.

The Year Before the War is a historical thriller with a surrealist twist. Director Simanis embraces erudite hyperbole through playful references to key historical figures and the history of Russian and German cinema. The result is an atmospheric analysis of an era that still has great relevance; an era when new, utopian ideas heralded the 20th century.