Hurensöhne: A Requiem

This is a story set in the distant past, in the seventeenth century, during the Thirty Years’ War. In the city of Nordhausen, in the Harz Mountains, life is cheap, and the prevailing class divisions and interpersonal relations increasingly intense. The children are taken away from their parents by force, and when they return after many years, they seem to be strangers to them. Yet this is also a story set in modern times where people are still incapable of learning the lessons left for them by the previous generations of cruel divisions. The film is a cinematic experiment dealing with the beauty, fragility, and imperfection of human nature through archetypes and myths.

Directed by Christina Friedrich, Hurensöhne: A Requiem leans on a strong ensemble — Deborah Kaufmann, Julischka Eichel, Roland Bonjour — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 2020.