Oskar Matzerath (David Bennent) was born in the Free City of Danzig in 1924. At the age of three his mother gives him a tin drum. Oskar plays his drum constantly. He never goes anywhere without it. He sees around him the hypocrisy and excesses of adults. He decides that he doesn’t want to be part of that kind of society, so he decides that he doesn’t want to grow. He throws himself down the cellar stairs. The result is that his growth stops.
Oskar’s mother, Agnes Matzerath (Angela Winkler) is married to childhood friend, Alfred (Mario Adorf). She is also having a long-term affair with her cousin, Jan Bronski (Daniel Olbrychski). Oskar is aware of the affair and believes that Jan is his father and not Alfred. Jan is Polish and works for the Polish post office. Alfred runs a grocery store. The men have known each other since childhood and are friends so Alfred remains unaware of what is going on between his wife and his friend.
On his first day of school Oskar’s teacher tries to take away his drum. Oskar screams. His screams can shatter glass. Whenever Oskar is upset, he screams and any glass around him breaks. Oskar also has the ability to make people dance when he plays his drum. During a Nazi rally he hides under the bleachers and plays his drum. People begin dancing and the rally breaks up. Oskar’s first glimpse of other people who have stopped growing occurs during a visit to a circus where a troupe of dwarfs performs. Oskar meets the head of the troupe, Bebra (Fritz Haki).
When Agnes becomes pregnant again, she is, once again, unsure of whom the father is. She binges on fish, which is a food that doesn’t agree with her. She continually vomits and dies not long after that. At her funeral is Sigismund Markus, the toy seller that supplies Oskar with tin drums. Markus is a Jew and was also in love with Agnes. He commits suicide and his store is vandalized. Oskar’s grandmother, Anna (Berta Drews) brings Maria (Katharina Thalbach) to help Alfred run the store. Both Oskar and his father have affairs with Maria. She becomes pregnant. Both Oskar and Alfred believe the child is theirs. Oskar decides to leave and join the troupe of dwarfs as they tour around Europe. Oskar falls in love with, Roswitha (Mariella Oliveri), one of the little people.
As the rise of Nazi Germany engulfs Europe Oskar’s friends and family are one by one killed as a result of the war raging around him.
“The Tin Drum” AKA “Die Blechtrommel” was released in 1979 and was directed by Volker Schlondorff. It is a West German war drama with fantasy undertones and was based on the novel by Gunter Grass. Grass wrote three novels, referred to as the Danzig trio, that were based in his hometown of Free City of Danzig. The others were “Cat and Mouse” and “Dog Years”. The trilogy reflects the rise of Nazism and how Danzig was affected by WWII.
It is an extremely strange and controversial film. The movie is full of symbolism and thought-provoking imagery. Most people, however, remember it for its unreserved sexual nature. David Bennett, the kid who plays Oskar, had a condition that caused him to grow slowly. At the time of filming, he was 11 or 12. Some of the scenes in the film depict Bennett’s character having sexual relations with adult women. It was banned in Oklahoma City and considered pornography and all copies were confiscated. In 1998 Federal Court ruled that it did not violate Oklahoma obscenity laws and the films should be returned. The case was finally settled in 2001 and the movie was again available in Oklahoma County. It was banned in parts of Canada as child pornography and banned in Ireland until 1981.
The original version is 142 minutes long. The director’s cut is 162 minutes long. The film won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film as well as various other awards. In 1999, the Swedish Academy awarded Grass the Nobel Prize in Literature.
There is a little stock footage, including a piece with Hitler, inserted in the film. The Free City of Danzig was a city-state under the protection of the League of Nations until it was invaded by the Nazi’s in 1939.