Napola (Before the Fall)

Germany, 1942. The Hitler regime is at the peak of its political and military power. 17-year-old Friedrich Weimer, from a Berlin working-class district, is a gifted boxer. Thanks to his talent, he receives an offer to study at an elite National-Political School, the NAPOLA, which trains the future leaders of the German Reich. Friedrich sees this as the chance of a lifetime to free himself from the restrictions of his class and enrolls in the school against the will of his parents. There, in a disconcerting world dominated by harsh Nazi discipline, he experiences both fierce rivalry and unexpected camaraderie – until a barbarous raid against escaped prisoners of war and his growing friendship with the quiet and sensitive Albrecht, the son of a high-ranking official, force him to make an important decision. A gripping, nuanced portrait of a friendship between two young men caught in the barbaric mechanisms of the Nazi system. Max Riemelt was honoured with the Best Actor Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2004.