The Ninth Day

Kino International is proud to announce the Los Angeles release of THE NINTH DAY, a new film directed by Academy Award winner Volker Schlöndorff (The Tin Drum, Circle of Deceit). After receiving critical accolades at the 2004 editions of the Locarno and Toronto film festivals, as well as Tribeca 2005, THE NINTH DAY is scheduled to open at Laemmle Music Hall on May 27, 2005.

THE NINTH DAY is Schlöndorff’s first film since The Legend of Rita (2001), also distributed by Kino International. Set in Nazi Germany, THE NINTH DAY is loosely based on a prison diary by Luxembourgian priest Jean Bernard, who was given a special nine-day leave from Dachau’s concentration camp for indeterminate reasons. Bernard’s published diary recounting his experiences during the Nazi era—describing, among other horrors, the crucifixion of fellow priests—was used by writer/director Schlöndorff as the base for the fictional story of Henri Kremer (played by Ulrich Matthes, last seen in the German b.o. hit Downfall), a priest torn between survival and ideology.

When Kramer is allowed, as the real Bernard was, to return to his native Luxembourg for nine days, he faces the complacent attitude of his family and secretly tries to convince key members of his church of the horrors being perpetrated by the Gestapo.

Meanwhile, the young and ambitious Nazi official Gebhardt (played by August Diehl) sees in Kramer’s freedom a chance to sway the opinion of an influential member of the Luxembourgian society, the Bishop Philippe (played by Hilmar Thate), who remains locked in his house as a sign of protest against Hitler.

Photographed by Tomas Erhart in subtle winter-grey tones and shot in breathtaking historical locations throughout Germany, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg, THE NINTH DAY delivers the usual Oscar-caliber performances expected from Volker Schlöndorff, and respectfully depicts the haunting horrors of the Holocaust while creating a complex portrait of a man destroyed by a fascist regime—and another man lost in his attempt to rationalize the horrors committed by his government.