This film is about the difference between law and justice. A national socialist is accused of having stirred up some people against foreigners. A judge has to decide whether he has done so or if his statement comes under the constitutional given freedom of speech. This is compared with a trial in the third Reich. A young woman is being accused of having a relationship with a jew. The film confronts two views of law: the judgement is only based on the current law or the judgement may be influenced by socio-political events and sense of justice.
A juvenile offender is handed over to authorities at age 13 and placed in an institution in this somber social drama. Martin is a petty thief who enjoys stealing and looks up to his older brother. When he is informed that his brother has died, Martin runs away from the reform school. He passes through various institutions and is labeled as incorrigible because of his refusal to comply with the rules of society. A dedicated child psychologist tries to save Martin when he entertains thoughts of suicide.
A juvenile offender is handed over to authorities at age 13 and placed in an institution in this somber social drama. Martin is a petty thief who enjoys stealing and looks up to his older brother. When he is informed that his brother has died, Martin runs away from the reform school. He passes through various institutions and is labeled as incorrigible because of his refusal to comply with the rules of society. A dedicated child psychologist tries to save Martin when he entertains thoughts of suicide.
1919. Released from the teacher training college, Joachim Hofer takes up his first job as an assistant teacher in an Alsatian village. But only a few students come to class in the pigsty converted to school.
This grim German psychological drama unveils the process by which an innocent man can be so damaged by interactions with the criminal justice system that the smallest incident can trigger a murderous fury. Matthias (Matthias Eysen) is already a misfit and has trouble meeting society's expectations. When he is picked up by the police for a minor crime, the brutal indifference with which he is treated wounds him in ways which are not healed by his being found innocent and being released.
This grim German psychological drama unveils the process by which an innocent man can be so damaged by interactions with the criminal justice system that the smallest incident can trigger a murderous fury. Matthias (Matthias Eysen) is already a misfit and has trouble meeting society's expectations. When he is picked up by the police for a minor crime, the brutal indifference with which he is treated wounds him in ways which are not healed by his being found innocent and being released.
