

The fate of a pianist who returns from the Second World War with a wound to his right hand.
Acting
Schütte's stillness speaks louder than any dialogue.
Direction
Erfurth frames ruin with devastating restraint.
Director
Ulrich Erfurth
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made in 1948, this is one of Germany's first films confronting returning soldiers' trauma—before audiences wanted to hear it.
Schütte was an actual pianist; the hand-closeups are his, making the performance-within-performance uncomfortably real.