Sølvberget cinematek: Blikktrommen (1979)

A masterpiece about Germany's 20th-century traumas.

Three-year-old Oskar has seen through the adults and decides to stop growing. Using his tin drum as a means of communication and his glass-shattering voice as a weapon, he observes the hypocrisy of the adults while the German Reich grows stronger in the 1930s. The setting is Danzig, the German enclave in the East, and the environment is the bourgeoisie under the rise of Nazism.

Director Volker Schlöndorff belongs to a generation of German filmmakers who chose to approach their country's horrific past in a new, self-reflective way. The Tin Drum portrays the absurdities that arose in the shadow of Hitler's regime and, using an almost surreal cinematic language, offers a new way to view Nazism, much like in Günther Grass's original novel.

The film was a major success with critics and audiences, winning the Palme d'Or, an Academy Award, and an 18+ age rating in Norway. It also had an extended theatrical run in Oslo. It combines memorable performances, especially from twelve-year-old David Bennent as Oskar, with an imaginative take on German history. Above all, it remains a highly entertaining film.

This is also a film with unforgettable scenes that stick with you: conception while fleeing under wide skirts, a Nazi rally drummed into chaos, fizzy candy sex, and eels in a horse's head!

Original title: Die Blechtrommel

Runtime: 2h 44min Country: Germany/France/Poland/Yugoslavia, 1979 Director: Volker Schlöndorff Cast: David Bennent, Mario Adorf, Angela Winkler Language: German with English subtitles Age rating: 18 years Tickets are sold at Odeon Kino Stavanger – Cinemateket i Stavanger - Filmer på Cinemateket ODEON Kino