JIFF: The Tin Drum (1979)

This film is also showing at our sister cinemas, Classic Cinemas and Lido Cinemas

The Tin Drum

“...almost everything anybody could ask a film to be. It is strikingly original and continuously surprising.” – Los Angeles Times

Winner of the Palme d’Or and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, this controversial anti-war film from Volker Schlöndorff is a strikingly original masterpiece, based on Nobel Prize-winner Günter Grass’s classic novel.

Spanning the 20th century, this arresting classic follows a very unusual young boy named Oskar Matzerath, who is disillusioned by a world he sees as filled with hypocrisy and injustice, and vows on his third birthday to never grow up.

As history marches on and the Nazis rise to power in Danzig, Oskar is miraculously granted his wish, remaining a child as the destruction of World War II surrounds him, beating his tin drum and screaming incessantly in horror at the violence he witnesses.

Controversial upon release and subject to censorship in many countries, including the USA, The Tin Drum is now recognised as a vital anti-war film, and a masterpiece of world cinema.

Festival Appearances/Awards
Academy Awards 1980 – Winner, Best Foreign Language Film
Cannes Film Festival 1979 – Winner, Palme d’Or

Rating

Unclassified 15+

Duration

162 min

Country

Germany, France, Poland

Language

German, Polish, Russian (English Subtitles)

Cast

David Bennent, Mario Adorf, Angela Winkler

Director

Volker Schlöndorff