The Brutalization of Franz Blum

Roughly translated the English title for this is The Brutalization of Franz Blum and that's exactly what the story is about. Franz Blum (Jurgen Prochnow) goes to prison for his part in a bank robbery. He previously worked in a bank, came from a good family and has never been in trouble before. An intelligent, caring man he quickly comes to realise that he has to survive in a world he can scarcely comprehend, where brute force and ignorance are more important than anything else. Slowly Franz Blum learns how to fight back from the insults and beatings that his fellow inmates inflict on him, until he starts to become one of the most influential of the prisoners with his own 'gang'. His survival comes at a price, as he discards his moral principles and begins to manipulate the inmates as much, if not more, than the wardens and the previous gang leaders. The ending is deeply ironic and rings horribly true. Although well acted by everyone, it is Prochnow who makes this movie so outstanding and is one of his best performances apart from Das Boot and Die Konsequenz.