SCHACHNOVELLE

By Philipp STÖLZL

PATHE FILMS (SWITZERLAND) - as DISTR Theatrical, TV, DVD-video, VOD, SWITZERLAND

Thriller - Post-Production 2020

Film adaptation of Stefan Zweig's novel of the same name, first published in 1941.

    • Year of production
    • 2020
    • Genres
    • Thriller, Historical, Drama
    • Countries
    • GERMANY, AUSTRIA
    • Languages
    • GERMAN
    • Director(s)
    • Philipp STÖLZL
    • Synopsis
    • When Vienna is occupied by the Nazis in 1938, the lawyer Josef Bartok (Oliver Masucci) tries to escape to the USA together with his wife Anna (Birgit Minichmayr), but the effort is in vain - he is arrested by the Gestapo and taken to the Hotel Matropol. Since Bartok manages the assets of the nobility, he is supposed to give the head of the authority Franz-Josef Böhm (Albrecht Schuch) access to some accounts of the aristocrats at the headquarters of the Secret State Police. However, the lawyer is steadfast and refuses to cooperate with the Gestapo in any form whatsoever. The subsequent solitary confinement increasingly demoralizes Bartok. When he happens to come into possession of a chess book, the tables turn...