The Soldier

ABOUT THE FILM

History doesn’t repeat itself – or does it?

To answer this question, director Marko Doringer traces the footsteps of his late grandfather. The filmmaker visits the places of his childhood and youth in inter-war Austria. His lifeline takes him back to the beginnings of World War II, and he follows the route of his Wehrmacht unit across present-day Poland.

In the course of his personal journey of discovery, Marko Doringer pours through historical archives, comes across the testimonies from contemporary witnesses and analyses his own family history. Together with his grandfather’s unvarnished private photos, a complex cosmos of fears of decline and promises of redemption unfolds – all of which culminates in the world’s greatest crime against humanity. What can we learn from his grandfather’s life story? And why is coming to terms with his past so difficult?

The story of THE SOLDIER pertains to a particular time and place but has universal human import. The film is a journey into the darkest corners of human history – and back to our present. A timely film about the exclusion of minorities, about the susceptibility of people to seduction and about the resurgence of resentment.

The film is currently in the financing stage.