Directed by:
Christian SchwochowScreenplay:
Heide SchwochowCinematography:
Frank LammComposer:
Lorenz DangelCast:
Ulrich Noethen, Tobias Moretti, Levi Eisenblätter, Tom Gronau, Johanna Wokalek, Sonja Richter, Maria Dragus, Louis Hofmann, Artus Maria Matthiessen (more)Plots(1)
Siggi, an inmate of a post-war German juvenile detention centre, is forced to write an essay with the title ‘The Joy of Duty’. This is how Siggi gets to pen his dark memories of the war years. Back in the day, the eleven-year-old son of loyal police officer Jens Ole Jepsen found himself thrust between the hardened fronts of society: while his father obediently follows the task to enforce a work ban placed on Max Nansen, Siggi’s godfather, the “degenerate” artist steadfastly opposes the Nazi regime. Father and godfather both want to harness young Siggi for their own purposes, caging the boy in a web of emotional contradictions, between assimilation and resistance. 50 years after its release, Christian Schwochow brings this atmospheric adaptation of Siegfried Lenz’s timeless world bestseller to the screen. (Zurich Film Festival)
(more)Cast
![Ulrich Noethen](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/168/831/168831313_sd23g8.jpg)
Ulrich Noethen
West Germany
Best movies:
Comedian Harmonists (1997)
The Promise (2011) (series)
Ku'damm 59 (2018) (series)
![Tobias Moretti](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/166/726/166726591_333c41.jpg)
Tobias Moretti
Austria
Best movies:
Maximilian & Marie De Bourgogne (2017) (series)
Dem Mörder verfallen - Eine Frau in Gefahr (1999) (TV movie)
Das ewige Lied (1997) (TV movie)
Levi Eisenblätter
Germany
Best movies:
The German Lesson (2019)
The Perfect Secret (2019)
Text for you (2016)
![Tom Gronau](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/481/160481213_ec42ce.jpg)
Tom Gronau
Germany
Best movies:
The German Lesson (2019)
Polizeiruf 110 (1971) (series)
Der Zürich-Krimi (2016) (series)
![Johanna Wokalek](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/931/160931098_a00d17.jpg)
Johanna Wokalek
West Germany
Best movies:
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)
North Face (2008)
Die Kirschenkönigin (2004) (series)
![Sonja Richter](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/547/160547797_a9c964.jpg)
Sonja Richter
Denmark
Best movies:
The Day Will Come (2016)
Open Hearts (2002)
Villa paranoia (2004)
![Maria Dragus](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/214/160214429_69eefb.jpg)
Maria Dragus
Romania
Best movies:
The White Ribbon (2009)
Line of Separation (2015) (series)
24 Weeks (2016)
![Louis Hofmann](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/165/204/165204518_d927f1.jpg)
Louis Hofmann
Germany
Best movies:
Land of Mine (2015)
Sanctuary (2014)
The German Lesson (2019)
![Artus Maria Matthiessen](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/422/159422094_f56c5b.jpg)
Artus Maria Matthiessen
West Germany
Best movies:
Schindler's List (1993)
The German Lesson (2019)
The Speer and Hitler: Devil's Architect (2005) (series)
![Marek Harloff](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/279/279461_5db4b1.jpg)
Marek Harloff
West Germany
Best movies:
Generation War (2013) (series)
Happy As One (2006)
The German Lesson (2019)
Peter Badstübner
Best movies:
The German Lesson (2019)
The Golden Glove (2019)
The Girl with Nine Wigs (2013)
![Michael Wittenborn](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/348/162348223_7db1bb.jpg)
Michael Wittenborn
West Germany
Best movies:
Curveball (2020)
The German Lesson (2019)
A Friend of Mine (2006)
Klaus Peeck
Best movies:
The German Lesson (2019)
Tatort (1970) (series)
8 Uhr 28 (2010)
Jochen Regelien
German Empire
Best movies:
The German Lesson (2019)
Tatort (1970) (series)
Siegfried (2005)
![Mette Lysdahl](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/597/161597957_99b14b.jpg)
Mette Lysdahl
Denmark
Best movies:
Land of Mine (2015)
The German Lesson (2019)
The Reunion 2: The Funeral (2014)
![Sebastian Rudolph](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/923/159923414_ca5c76.jpg)
Sebastian Rudolph
West Germany
Best movies:
The English Patient (1996)
Manta - Der Film (1991)
Stalingrad (1993)
![Moritz Führmann](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/168/807/168807171_iao9m0.jpg)
Moritz Führmann
West Germany
Best movies:
The German Lesson (2019)
Mack the Knife - Brecht's Threepenny Film (2018)
Harter Brocken - Der Waffendeal (2021) (TV movie)
Frank Genser
Best movies:
The German Lesson (2019)
Jonas Friedrich Leonhardi
Germany
Best movies:
The German Lesson (2019)
Polizeiruf 110 (1971) (series)
Tatort (1970) (series)
Nikolai Mohr
Germany
Best movies:
The German Lesson (2019)
Tatort (1970) (series)
Ein starkes Team (1994) (series)