The Royal Game

Sep 23, 2021

1h 50m

★ 6.9

He turned resistance into a game.

Overview

1938. While the Nazi troops march into Vienna, the lawyer Josef Bartok hastily tries to escape to the USA with his wife but is arrested by the Gestapo. Bartok remains steadfast and refuses to cooperate with the Gestapo that requires confidential information from him. Thrown into solitary confinement, Bartok is psychologically tormented for months and begins to weaken. However, when he steals an old book about chess it sets him on course to overcome the mental suffering inflicted upon him, until it becomes a dangerous obsession.

Genres

History

Drama

War

Thriller

Production Companies

Walker & Worm Film

Dor Film

ORF

StudioCanal

Studio Babelsberg

ARD

ARD Degeto

The Royal Game Trailers

Cast

Dr. Josef Bartok

Oliver Masucci

Franz-Josef Böhm

Albrecht Schuch

Anna Bartok

Birgit Minichmayr

Owen McConnor

Rolf Lassgård

Johann Prantl

Andreas Lust

Alfred Koller

Samuel Finzi

Gustav Sailer

Lukas Miko

Barkeeper Willem

Joel Basman

Dr. Swoboda

Clemens Berndorff

Dr. Fink

Johannes Zeiler

Maid Klara

Maresi Riegner

Fridl

Luisa-Céline Gaffron

Orphaned after a Nazi air raid, Paulette, a young Parisian girl, runs into Michel, an older peasant boy, and the two quickly become close. Together, they try to make sense of the chaotic and crumbling world around them, attempting to cope with death as they create a burial ground for Paulette's deceased pet dog. Eventually, however, Paulette's stay with Michel's family is threatened by the harsh realities of wartime.

7.0

The World Under the Bombs, from Guernica to Hiroshima

Jan 23, 2017

Beginning with Guernica and the Chinese cities of Chongqing and Shanghai in 1937 and ending with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, World War Two saw a new art of warfare in the form of extensive, worldwide bombing campaigns.

6.0

Our Father

Dec 25, 2015

The Second World War is experienced through the journey of Private Cole, a dramatic study of the contrasting nature between the innocence of childhood and the reality of war, and the emotional struggle that accompanies it.

7.7

Breakpoint: A Counter History of Progress

Jul 14, 2019

An account of the last two centuries of the Anthropocene, the Age of Man. How human beings have progressed so much in such a short time through war and the selfish interests of a few, belligerent politicians and captains of industry, damaging the welfare of the majority of mankind, impoverishing the weakest, greedily devouring the limited resources of the Earth.

6.3

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom

Jan 10, 1976

Four corrupted fascist libertines round up 9 teenage boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of sadistic physical, mental and sexual torture.

5.9

Shooting War

Dec 7, 2000

A remarkable film that takes a special look at the first war to be truly reported and recorded by one of the more unsung heroes of World War II: the combat photographer. Through the unflinching eye of their camera's lenses, these courageous soldiers continually risked their lives in their brave attempts to capture history.

6.5

Bawaal

Jul 21, 2023

Ajay Dixit, an ordinary history teacher in a high school, enjoys mini celebrityhood in his town courtesy of the fake image he has built. He shares a strained relationship with his newly-wed wife. Circumstances force him to take a trip to Europe for the World War II trail accompanied by his wife. Will his relationship with his wife survive this trip? Will he manage to win the war within?

0.0

Rudy Hernandez: Congressional Medal of Honor

Jan 1, 2020

Mexican American Rodolfo P. Hernandez faced death along the 38th parallel, earning a Congressional Medal of Honor for valor during the Korean War. A story of heroism, perseverance and service, Hernandez proved that even in the most dire circumstances a wounded soldier can accomplish his mission and go on to greater service as a veteran.

0.0

Frank Maselskis: From WWII POW to Chosin Reservoir Survivor

Jan 1, 2020

Despite his horrible experience as a prisoner of war during WWII, Frank Maselskis stays in the military and goes on to fight in Korea, where he participates in the brutal battle of the Chosin Reservoir. Upon returning home, Frank struggles to live a normal life while raising his daughters.

5.8

Knight Moves

Jan 14, 1992

A chess grandmaster is in a big tournament, and when his lover is found painted up and the blood drained out of her body he becomes a chief suspect. After he gets a call from the killer urging him to try and figure out the game, he cooperates with police and a psychologist to try and catch the killer, but doubts linger about the grandmaster's innocence as the string of grisly murders continues.

4.1

A Good Lad

Jan 1, 1942

A group of Russian partisans hiding within a remote forest attempt to destroy a nearby German airfield, all the while assisting a downed French pilot who happens to fall madly in love with a local girl.

7.0

The Girl with the Instagram

May 1, 2019

Nagyvárad, Hungary, 1944. From February to June, Eva Heyman, a 13-year-old Jewish girl, wrote a diary describing the harsh conditions of her life under Nazi occupation. How would she have told her story if she had used Instagram?

5.8

Intimates

Oct 23, 1997

Foon escapes an arranged marriage by walking the road of a Ji Sor. After an affair with Shing, she becomes pregnant. An attempted abortion nearly costs Foon her life. Wan, the young owner of a silk factory, rescues her. Wan and Foon share their romances, reflecting the experience of women during the 40's.

No Image Available

6.4

Sirius

Nov 14, 1975

In SIRIUS, a young boy whose most cherished companion is his loyal German shepherd devises his own form of resistance when the Nazis arrest his father, then order the confiscation of local canines, including his pet, to be retrained as attack dogs against the rebellious populace.

7.4

Lifeboat

Jan 28, 1944

During World War II, a small group of survivors is stranded in a lifeboat together after the ship they were traveling on is destroyed by a German U-boat.

5.5

The Black Parachute

May 4, 1944

A paratrooper drops behind enemy lines to rescue the deposed king of a mythical Balkan nation.

6.0

Back Home

Oct 22, 2001

The war in Europe is over, but the one at home has only just begun. The Second World War is ending and throughout Britain, evacuees are returning home to their families - but not the families they remember. Like so many other women, Peggy’s life has been transformed by the war. Living and working with good friends, she is happier than she has been for years. Yet Peggy’s life is not the only one changed by the war. Her daughter, Rusty, has just returned from the U.S., where she has been living as an evacuee for the last five years. After so long abroad, her home in England has become unrecognizable. Just as Peggy begins to restore normal family bonds, her husband returns from the war, damaged and desperate to make everything as it was before. Adapted from the novel by Michelle Magorian, author of Goodnight, Mister Tom, Back Home is the story of a family who struggle to make sense of their new lives in a world irrevocably altered by the far-reaching effects of war.

6.8

The Survivor

Apr 7, 2022

Harry Haft is a boxer who fought fellow prisoners in the concentration camps to survive. Haunted by the memories and his guilt, he attempts to use high-profile fights against boxing legends like Rocky Marciano as a way to find his first love again.

7.0

The Liberation of Auschwitz

Aug 13, 1986

This chilling, vitally important documentary was produced to mark the 40th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Concentration Camp. The film contains unedited, previously unavailable film footage of Auschwitz shot by the Soviet military forces between January 27 and February 28, 1945 and includes an interview with Alexander Voronsov, the cameraman who shot the footage. The horrifying images include: survivors; camp visit by Soviet investigation commission; criminal experiments; forced laborers; evacuation of ill and weak prisoners with the aid of Russian and Polish volunteers; aerial photos of the IG Farben Works in Monowitz; and pictures of local people cleaning up the camp under Soviet supervision. - Written by National Center for Jewish Film

6.3

The Chess Player

May 5, 2017

In 1934 Diego Padilla wins the Spanish Championship of Chess and meets a French journalist, Marianne Latour, and they fall in love. At the end of the Civil War, Marianne convinces Diego to live in France with their daughter, where shortly afterwards Diego will be accused of spying by the Nazis and imprisoned in an SS prison. In prison, Diego will try to survive in a hostile environment thanks to Colonel Maier's passion for chess.