6.9/10
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Transit (2018)

When a man flees France after the Nazi invasion, he assumes the identity of a dead author whose papers he possesses. Stuck in Marseilles, he meets a young woman desperate to find her missing husband - the very man he's impersonating.

Director:

Christian Petzold

Writers:

Christian Petzold (adaptation), Anna Seghers (novel)
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Popularity
2,286 ( 99)
1 win & 9 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Franz Rogowski ... Georg
Paula Beer ... Marie
Godehard Giese ... Richard
Lilien Batman Lilien Batman ... Driss
Maryam Zaree Maryam Zaree ... Melissa
Barbara Auer ... Architect / Frau
Matthias Brandt ... Barmann / Erzähler
Sebastian Hülk ... Paul
Emilie de Preissac Emilie de Preissac
Antoine Oppenheim Antoine Oppenheim ... Binnet
Louison Tresallet Louison Tresallet ... Jean Binnet
Justus von Dohnányi Justus von Dohnányi ... Conductor
Alex Brendemühl ... Mexican Consul
Trystan Pütter ... American Consul
Ronald Kukulies Ronald Kukulies
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Storyline

When a man flees France after the Nazi invasion, he assumes the identity of a dead author whose papers he possesses. Stuck in Marseilles, he meets a young woman desperate to find her missing husband - the very man he's impersonating.

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Genres:

Drama

Certificate:

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Details

Country:

Germany | France

Release Date:

16 August 2018 (Israel) See more »

Also Known As:

Transit See more »

Company Credits

Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Christian Petzold,in some ways, all of the screenplays that he and his late collaborator Harun Farocki developed together were more or less based on Transit by Anna Seghers. See more »

Connections

References Dawn of the Dead (1978) See more »

Soundtracks

Du und du: Opus 367
Composed by Johann Strauss
(c) copyright control
Recorded by Stefan Will
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User Reviews

 
Can a man tell a woman the dirty truth to save his life?! Stay tuned to find out!
17 November 2018 | by Raven-1969 – See all my reviews

A new regime is cracking down on immigrants, hard. Georg is not an immigrant, so he is not worried. This is until immigrants are lumped together with those the regime doesn't like. Random people are arrested and herded into buildings. Later there are traces of blood. "Order must be maintained," it is said. Now even Georg is scared. He assumes another man's identity and flees. Along the way he is bound to meet Marie, the wife of the man whose identity Georg just took. When he falls for Marie, Georg is in a real bind. Marie can't leave without her husband, Georg can't leave without Marie, and, of course, horror upon horrors, a man can't reveal his true identity nor tell the truth that he is a scoundrel to the woman he loves! Or can he?!

Transit deftly and artfully turns the tables and provides fresh perspectives on a number of compelling subjects. To begin with, it combines present and past, specifically World War II, so that it is unclear which is which. On the immigration issue, Germans are beholden to the Mexican government for transit passports. Regarding the relations between men and women, a man has to admit he is wrong before he can escape severe harm and/or death. We all know how that turns out, LOL! These are just some of the juicy themes of Transit. It is delightfully deep and could leave you mulling things over long after the film ending, as in my case, about the various meanings and connections to the world and yourself.

Such a hell as an ethnic cleansing, which looms in the background of Transit but without the graphic details, can happen anytime and anywhere. I know this is true, for just recently I viewed the bullet scared and burnt remains of homes in Croatia that used to belong to friendly neighbors.

Transit is a little disorganized and the police round-ups are awkward and unrealistic, but the film really is alluring and mind-bending as a whole. It also improves with time. From reading a bad review, I was expecting something different. Transit is based on a novel by Anna Seghers. Seen at the Toronto international film festival.


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