The Tin Drum

Trailer for The Tin Drum. Voker Schloendoff's The Tin Drum, based on Guenter Grass' acclaimed novel, tells the story of Oskar Matzerath, born in Danzig in 1924 with an intellect far beyond his infancy. As he witnesses the hypocrisy of adulthood and the irresponsibility of society. Oskar rejects both, and, at his third birthday, refuses to grow older and expresses his view of the world with piercing screams and frantic pounding on his tin drum as the world moves toward World War II. Novelist G nter Grass assisted in this brilliant film adaptation of his groundbreaking novel, which depicts the significant events in German history since the turn of the century as seen through the eyes of a bizarre child. In this allegorical film, a three-year-old boy observes the hypocrisy of the adult world and decides to remain a child forever by not growing any taller. His primary efforts to communicate consist of glass-shattering screams and banging on his tin drum. But as this unusual lad matures, and the events leading up to the onslaught of Nazism come to a head, he proves to have a keener perception of life than those around him. Volker Schlondorff's powerful drama deservedly won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.