Jugend ohne Gott

Godless Youth

Loosely based on Ödön von Horvath's novel of the same name published in 1937, the film is set in the near future and shows a completely digitized world, in which moral values and feelings are no longer relevant. The sole focus is on performance and efficiency, while the "weak" are being segregated and are living in slums. The story takes place in a hermetically secluded high performance camp in the mountains, where each year the best high school graduates compete for a place at one of the elite universities. Zach is one of them, but truth be told, he is not interested in the grim competition and withdraws from the others. This makes him all the more attractive to ambitious Nadesh, who at the same time feels that Zach's behavior has the potential to challenge the whole system. One day, Zach meets rebellious Ewa, who together with other teenagers, has turned away from meritocracy and illegally lives in the woods surrounding the camp. When a young student is murdered shortly after, things get even worse.