Directed by:
Matthias GlasnerScreenplay:
Heide SchwochowCinematography:
Jakub BejnarowiczComposer:
Lorenz DangelCast:
Ronald Zehrfeld, Johanna Wokalek, Saskia Reeves, Barbara Auer, Felix Klare, Eva Löbau, Ulrike Kriener, Katharina Wackernagel, Christian Berkel (more)Plots(1)
The adaptation of the award-winning novel by Ursula Krechel tells the true story of a Judeo-Christian family who survived persecution and exile under the Nazis and returns to Germany after the war to try and start over again. But the traumatized parents, and their kids who grew up in England, have a hard time adjusting to life in postwar Germany.
Part 1: Berlin 1938. Richard and Claire Kornitzer are an elegant couple. He's a star judge who tries big cases even as a young man, Claire is a modern woman with a lot of style who founded her own commercial film company. It never made a difference Richard was Jewish – until recently. Now, Richard has been debarred and Claire has lost her company. They reluctantly decide to send their children George (8) and Selma (5) abroad to safety. Soon thereafter, Richard gets a visa for Cuba and has to leave Claire alone in Berlin. The Gestapo seizes her last possessions, preventing her from paying for a visa for herself. She's easy prey for the Gestapo Captain. While Richard struggles to adapt to his exile in Cuba, the kids end up in an orphanage in England as war breaks out, believing their mother is dead.
Part 2: Richard returns to Claire, intent on helping rebuild Germany, restoring justice and the rule of law. But he has to cut through a lot of red tape before he gets a job as a judge again. He's taken aback to see how many Nazi judges have kept their jobs after the war. Meanwhile, Claire is tirelessly searching for her kids, who are lost somewhere in England. Finally, Richard's persistence pays off: He takes on a spectacular case, determined to reach a verdict on behalf of the victims of Nazism. At the same time, Claire tracks down the kids in England. But her hopes for getting their family back together are dashed: George wants to study in Great Britain, Selma wants to stay with her adoptive parents.
(HBO Europe)
Cast
![Ronald Zehrfeld](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/168/759/168759703_2gzmny.jpg)
Ronald Zehrfeld
East Germany
Best movies:
Dying (2024)
The Silent Revolution (2018)
Line of Separation (2015) (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)
![Saskia Reeves](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/354/159354696_1febf9.jpg)
![Barbara Auer](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/168/787/168787296_9nuofh.jpg)
Barbara Auer
West Germany
Best movies:
Herzlich willkommen (1990)
The Book Thief (2013)
Grzimek (2015) (TV movie)
![Felix Klare](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/157/901/157901328_444ed7.jpg)
Felix Klare
West Germany
Best movies:
Bis nichts mehr bleibt (2010) (TV movie)
Because You're Mine (2019) (TV movie)
Luther (2003)
![Eva Löbau](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/200/159200085_5abf16.jpg)
Eva Löbau
West Germany
Best movies:
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
The Forest for the Trees (2003)
The Teachers' Lounge (2023)
![Ulrike Kriener](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/169/037/169037928_57e5mz.jpg)
Ulrike Kriener
West Germany
Best movies:
The Elementary Particles (2006)
Men... (1985)
Landgericht (2017) (TV movie)
![Katharina Wackernagel](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/317/159317351_67b165.jpg)
Katharina Wackernagel
West Germany
Best movies:
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)
Das Adlon. Eine Familiensaga (2013) (series)
The Peppercorns and the Curse of the Black King (2017)
![Christian Berkel](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/168/791/168791884_tdoj1z.jpg)
Christian Berkel
West Germany
Best movies:
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Valkyrie (2008)
Black Book (2006)
![Michael Rotschopf](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/166/728/166728667_f57b80.jpg)
Michael Rotschopf
Austria
Best movies:
Landgericht (2017) (TV movie)
Angelo (2018)
Mahler on the Couch (2010)
![Kate Dickie](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/755/163755533_04d3ca.jpg)
Kate Dickie
UK
Best movies:
Summer (2008)
Small Axe (2020) (series)
Somers Town (2008)
![Ian McElhinney](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/602/158602516_c50dd7.jpg)
Ian McElhinney
UK
Best movies:
Hornblower: The Examination for Lieutenant (1998) (TV movie)
The Fall (2013) (series)
Hornblower: Retribution (2001) (TV movie)
![Alexander Beyer](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/412/412624_918f73.jpg)
Alexander Beyer
East Germany
Best movies:
Munich (2005)
Persian Lessons (2020)
The Fox (2023)
![Carlos Leal](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/639/158639264_68f0a2.jpg)
Carlos Leal
Switzerland
Best movies:
Casino Royale (2006)
Los serrano (2003) (series)
El internado (2007) (series) - actor, a.f.
![Aljoscha Stadelmann](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/168/792/168792743_8pphpu.jpg)
Aljoscha Stadelmann
West Germany
Best movies:
The Billion Dollar Code (2021) (series)
Lessons of a Dream (2011)
Carlos (2010) (TV movie)
![Moritz Hoyer](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/479/161479465_dadc5e.jpg)
Moritz Hoyer
Best movies:
Landgericht (2017) (TV movie)
Julia Kranz
Best movies:
Landgericht (2017) (TV movie)
Polizeiruf 110 (1971) (series)
Abigail Rice
Best movies:
A Prominent Patient (2016)
Gangster Ka: African (2015)
Landgericht (2017) (TV movie)
Eszter Tompa
Best movies:
Without Air (2023)
Bibliotheque Pascal (2010)
Landgericht (2017) (TV movie)
![Lisa Marie Trense](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/479/161479464_36636d.jpg)
Lisa Marie Trense
Best movies:
The Teachers' Lounge (2023)
Because You're Mine (2019) (TV movie)
Landgericht (2017) (TV movie)