During the last, desperate weeks of World War II, a German army deserter by the name of Willi Herold (Max Hubacher) stumbles across an abandoned Nazi captain's uniform. At first merely wearing the uniform to stay warm, Willi discovers more Germans desperate for leadership who are willing to follow anyone. Emboldened by the power his new uniform brings, Willi takes over a prison camp accompanied by his group of followers and claims to be acting on the direct orders of Adolf Hitler himself. What follows is a parade of fresh atrocities as Willi begins to murder inmates guilty of any transgression. That's the story of Robert Schwentke's THE CAPTAIN, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, and what's more amazing is that it's a true story. The real Willi Herold was responsible for the murders of over a hundred people before he was arrested, tried and executed for war crimes in 1946.
It's not exactly the type of film you'd expect from the director of RED, FLIGHTPLAN, R.I.P.D., and the final two DIVERGENT movies, but it represents a bit of a homecoming for Robert Schwentke as it's his first German film after over a decade in Hollywood. THE CAPTAIN will see a limited release in New York on July 27th and Los Angeles on August 10th.