In May of 1983, a man turns 49 and, with his 17-year old son, journeys to the village in Baden that he left 40 years before. He wants to discover what happened then, the truth about an affair his mother had with a young Polish prisoner of war, how the authorities came to learn of it, the lovers' arrest, and the aftermath. While his son takes Polaroid photographs, he retraces the steps of his childhood and interviews those who should remember. The story is disclosed in flashbacks that focus on the lovers (Paulina and Stanislaus), on a jealous and conniving neighbor, and on Mayer, the local SS commander who wants to find a way out of inevitable consequences.
as Pauline Kropp
as Stanislaus
as Mayer
as Schulze
as Wiktorczyk
as Dr. Borg
as Karl Wyler
as Elisabeth Schnittgens
as Melchior
as Frau Melchior
as Klaus
as Narrator
as Zinngruber
as Stackmann
as Alker
as Herbert
as Frau Zinngruber
as Frau Schnittgens, old
as Maria Wyler, old
as Maria Wyler
as 1 Policeman
as 2 Policeman
as Prison Guard
as Patient
as Nun
as Druggist
as Old Lady
as Stackmann's Son (uncredited)
as Prisoner of War (uncredited)
as Chief Physician (uncredited)
as Klages (uncredited)
as Mari De Paulina (uncredited)
as Stackmann's Stepdaughter (uncredited)
as Prisoner of War (uncredited)
as Counsel (uncredited)
as Martha (uncredited)
as Soldier (uncredited)
as Postal Employee (uncredited)
as (uncredited)
