Oskar Novák, a young man from a patriotic family in Czechoslovakia, is looking forward to his mandatory service as a border guard. He and two other soldiers are introduced to the strict rules that apply at the border. The order to shoot refugees immediately triggers different reactions from the new arrivals. Nevertheless, Oskar is still convinced that he is doing the right thing and strives to do his job as good as possible.
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He settles into his new routine at the border and realizes that some of his comrades seem to have different approaches to their work as guards. Izak Adamek, the colleague who came to the border with him, is the prime example of blind obedience; he never misses an opportunity to endear himself to the officer by loudly berating traitors to the state and can hardly wait to finally get his hands on some himself. Oskar also realizes that an older colleague, Alexej Svoboda, is very reserved when it comes to talking about the capture of refugees, which Oskar thinks is a bit strange. When it comes to his first confrontation with border crossers, he has to come to terms with the harshness and brutality of his new life: Oskar shoots a young man in an attempt to stop him from crossing the border. When he approaches the body to search for weapons, he can’t help but compare him to his younger brother. After he sees that the young man is unarmed, he begins to doubt whether he has done the right thing. This encounter leaves Oskar with deep feelings of guilt, which haunt him in the form of nightmares.
One day, news break that Svoboda tried to smuggle refugees across the border and was shot in the process. The fugitives have been captured, and their fate is to be decided by the next morning. Oskar, who increasingly doubts the procedures at the border, decides to help the refugees to freedom and save them from death or severe punishment.
He takes over the guard post from a colleague and plans the escape with the captured fugitives. They set off on their escape through the 4.5-kilometre-wide border strip that still separates them from the actual border.
Only a few meters away from the border, Oskar’s loyalty is put to the test one last time when he comes face-to-face with Izak. He tries to talk his way out of the situation, but when this doesn’t convince his colleague, he decides in favor of the fugitives to knock his colleague down and they flee across the river.
The knocked-down colleague gets up again, sees Oskar and the fugitives on the other side of the river, and aims with his rifle. He shoots – and the film cuts to an abrupt black screen.
| Louise Schedlmayer Director, Wirter Tatiana Mayr Producer Louise Schedlmayer Producer Luca Anker Key Cast “Oskar” Theo Colarusso Key Cast “Izak” Fridolin Blasl Key Cast “Jiri” Maximilian Modl Key Cast “Alexej” |
