Die Grünstein-Variante

Summary

Paris in 1939: Three men are in custody pending deportation in a remand prison, a German sailor called Lodeck, a Greek cook, and the butcher Grünstein, a Polish Jew. The men who become more and more close despite all their differences form chess pieces from their daily bread ration. Astonishingly fast, the brilliant chess novice Grünstein succeeds to checkmate the professional chess player Lodeck. There is no way to beat his "Grünstein variant". The film that was filmed with strong support from the GDR and with many East German artists is based on Wolfgang Kohlhaase′s radio play by the same name.