A group of Neo-Nazis attempts to invade Poland.

“Following the formally austere Stations of the Cross, the latest film by German filmmaker Dietrich Brüggemann will come as a surprise to some. Heil is a relentless and ridiculous satire, seeming to revel in controversy and political incorrectness. But underneath the absurdity of its proceedings lies a streak of rational anger that indicts the failure of governmental institutions, of the media and of the left wing to fight a growing tide of ultra-right-wing sentiment in Europe.” (Laurence Boye, Cineuropa)

“At his press conference in Karlovy Vary he invoked the Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers, and I later had a conversation with the director, in which he talked about Monty Python and other silly geniuses. Perhaps it is the director’s last and overtly solemn film, “Stations of the Cross,” that set up expectations for a certain kind of gravity. It’s clear now that Brüggemann had a very different direction in mind — an American-style spoof. But of course spoof and silliness do not in fact suggest a lack of seriousness. Moreover, his plotting is seriously complex, setting many plates to spinning and somehow getting them to fall together more or less at once. I don’t have room to explain the various plotlines, but let’s just say it’s about two vying groups of neo-Nazis, one more stupid than the other, and some equally numbskull politicians and intelligence policemen and even anti-fascists, all of whom run rings around each other until they pretty much self-destruct. One reviewer actually castigates Brüggemann for making fun of the anti-fascists, which is rather perfect – it takes a fascist to suggest that anti-fascists are above being made fun of. “Heil” itself is certainly not above criticism, not any more than any of its characters. The more the merrier, Herr Brüggemann, take the piss out of the whole lot. It’s precisely the sort of comedy Germany needs, not that they will necessarily appreciate it.” (Tom Christie, Indiewire)

Starring Benno Fürmann, Liv Lisa Fries, Jerry Hoffman, Jacob Matschenz, Daniel Zillmann, Oliver Bröcker, Michael Gwisdek, Michael Kind, Thorsten Merten, Heinz-Rudolf Kunze, Thelma Buabeng, Jörg Bundschuh, Joseph Bundschuh, Richard Kropf, Anna Brüggemann, Sven Taddicken and a lot more.

Premiered at 50. Karlovy Vary Film Festival.