Summer of ’442017

Director
Friedemann Fromm

Acters

Jonathan Berlin (Onkel)
Theo Trebs (Knuffke)
Andreas Warmbrunn (Bubu)
Laurenz Lerch (Hosenmacher)
Joscha Eissen (Zungenkuss)
Johannes Geller (Jumbo)

The touching story of five boys being teenagers in the last months of World War II.

It’s seemingly business as usual for five 16-year-olds at the public pool. The sun burns from the sky, the boys show off and stare longingly at the pretty girls. But as all of them are looking too cool off in the water, the Wehrmacht is still fighting. In the summer of 1944 the tide has turned for Nazi Germany: their army is retreating, squeezing every last drop of blood even from teenagers. Ignoring the brutal regime as best as they can, the five lads try to bring some normalcy to their lives before it’s off to the battle fields. For now, they are nothing but cannon fodder, two of them being forced into the SS, the others fighting alongside 60-year-olds. Soon enough, two of the boys are dead. As spring turns into summer again, peace has come and the rest of the boys are back. But are they still best friends? Their innocence is gone, and the public pool has fallen dry.

“A brilliantly made contemporary document and worth seeing for the simple fact that it shows what wars can do to the souls of entire generations.” – Schwaebische.de

“Director Fromm has implemeted the material subtly, in the right tone and with film noir touches, using young actors who are great throughout the film.” – TV Spiel Film

“Fromm has succeeded perfectly in transporting the viewer into the horror of war and Nazi terror as well as the immediate post-war period.” – Frankfurter Neue Presse