Die Grünstein-Variante

The plot revolves around three men waiting to be deported in a prison. To escape the monotony, they form chess pieces from their bread rations, with which they then play against each other. Grünstein, a Polish Jew, proves to be a real talent, because although he is a beginner, he manages to defeat even the experienced player Lodeck, a German sailor, with his "Grünstein Variant".

The Bridge

A group of German boys are ordered to protect a small bridge in their home village during the waning months of the second world war. Truckloads of defeated, cynical Wehrmacht soldiers flee the approaching American troops, but the boys, full of enthusiasm for the "blood and honor" Nazi ideology, stay to defend the useless bridge. The film is based on a West German anti-war novel of the same name, written by Gregor Dorfmeister.

The Miracle of Father Malachia

"Wunderbar" takes on a new meaning in this routine satire by Bernhard Wicki about a bar that is miraculously transported by God Himself to a nearby, new location on an island. The nature of the miracle is a bit strange, but it comes in answer to Pater Malachias' prayers to get the sin-ridden place out of the center of the city. The good and naive Malachias is subtly played by Horst Bollimann. Once this miracle of relocation has occurred, the sharks and entrepreneurs, who would bilk both the faithful and the curiosity-seekers alike, crop up l...