The Defector - Blu-Ray

Movie: Summer 1944: On his way back to the Eastern Front, the young Wehrmacht soldier Walter Proska (Jannis Niewöhner) meets the young Polish partisan Wanda (Malgorzata Mikolajczak) on the train, who has placed a bomb in the carriage. The soldier is able to remove the explosive charge and help the woman to escape. But a short time later the train explodes when it runs over a mine laid by partisans. Proska survives and ends up with a small unit of German soldiers in the swamps of Rokitno. Commanding the small squad is Sergeant Willi Stehauf (Rainer Bock), who drives the men mad with his sadistic ways in the Polish woods. Through a chance reunion with Wanda and friendship with his comrade Kürschner (Sebastian Urzendowsky), Proska begins to question the rightness of his assignment more and more. When he becomes a Russian prisoner of war, he must finally break away from his oath of allegiance in order to survive the war.

The Defector was written by Siegfried Lenz back in 1951. However, the content of the book was too politically explosive for his publisher, which is why it was never published during his lifetime. It was only in 2016, months after the writer's death, that the novel went on sale and immediately became a celebrated bestseller. Oscar winner Florian Gallenberger took on the difficult task of filming the work as a big event two-parter for ARD. The result is perhaps not quite as profound as the novel. Nevertheless, Gallenberger has succeeded in creating a gripping war drama about moral conscience, guilt and atonement, and humanity in times of cruel wars.

The moving love story woven into the plot does not seem forced, but rather an important motivator for Proska's actions. As a result, there are always moments that are genuinely touching emotionally without ever seeming even remotely cheesy. The two-parter also benefits from the great cast. Rainer Bock as the sadistic sergeant deserves special mention. Bock, who most recently made a memorable appearance in the great Breaking Bad spin-off Better call Saul, brings a terrifying intensity to this character. But lead actor Jannis Niewöhner also leaves an all-around positive impression.

With a running time of nearly three hours, there are pleasingly few lengths, and even a few minor weaknesses, such as in some visible green screen effects, can be easily overlooked due to the truly first-rate production. The defector is gripping television entertainment with extremely strong actors, haunting images and some really rousing moments. Quite clearly: absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The picture of the Blu-ray lets the viewers well immersed in the story through a very authentic-looking color scheme. Good image sharpness means that even small details of the coherent set come across very well. The sound could have used a little more spaciousness at some moments, but dialogue is pleasantly powerfully mixed and music as well as ambient sounds are well matched. Good!

Extras: The Blu-ray has quite extensive bonus material to offer. It starts with a worth seeing look behind the scenes (approx. 17:51 min.), which vividly traces the making of the two-parter. This is supplemented by interesting interviews about the path from novel to film (approx. 4:40 min.), about the makers (approx. 3:54 min.), the costume design (approx. 3:30 min.) and the visual realization (approx. 3:04 min.). Further interviews with Jannis Niewöhner (approx. 4:29 min.), Malgorzata Mikolajczak (approx. 3:01 min.), Rainer Bock (approx. 5:32 min.), Bjarne Mädel (approx. 4:21 min.) and Ullrich Tukur (approx. 2:22 min.) round out the decent bonus offerings.

Conclusion: Der Überläufer is a very strong film adaptation of Siegfried Lenz's posthumously published novel. Director Florian Gallenberger does a very good job of immersing the audience in the story without the usual clichés ever taking over. Interestingly drawn characters and a rousing story define the action here, which is carried by a strong ensemble. The Blu-ray presents the two-parter in good picture and sound quality and also has extras worth seeing on board. For this, there is clearly a: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp