divinelyloved Review of The Inheritors

The Inheritors (1983)

Excellent plot, but totally sad and scary film

[9/10 · 27 January 2005]

This film in German, with English subtitles. It is about a boy named Thomas whose mother constantly yells at him, as well as her husband. As a teenager, he hates his home life and with good reason - his mother is verbally abusive and his father is a weakling. He comes across another young guy similar in age to himself and becomes friends with him. Little does he know that this other fellow is a member of a Neo-Nazi youth group. Slowly but surely Thomas begins to get deeply involved in the Nazi organization and the dangers inherent within it. Violence ensues as Thomas becomes more deeply involved in the organization. The ending is both tragic and startling. This is an excellent film, although the male nudity is probably uncalled for. However, the hedonism of this youth organization is quite germane to the historical behavior of the earlier Nazi youth organizations, even going back to the early 1930's. In typical fashion, the film at times lacks connective action sequences, with the camera panning on a window or room for a long time without any dialog. However, as a European film, this is to be expected. Overall, I think this is an excellent movie, but truly tragic in its ending.