“Transit,” August 13

Friday, August 13, 8 p.m.

Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL

Winner of the Dublin International Film Festival's “Best Film” citation for 2019 and included among the National Board of Review's top-five foreign-language films for its year, writer/director Christian Petzoid's Transit, on August 13, serves as the latest presentation in the Kinogarten series of acclaimed, German-themed works hosted by Rock Island's Rozz-Tox and Davenport's German American Heritage Center,

Based on Anna Seghers's 1944 novel of the same name and adapted to be set in the present, Transit finds German political refugee Georg (Franz Rogowski) barely escaping arrest in occupied Paris. He attempts to deliver a letter to a famous writer named Franz Weidel, but after discovering that Weidel has killed himself in a hotel room, Georg takes Weidel's last manuscript and identity documents, which promise him safe harbor in Mexico. Georg consequently attempts to flee to Marseille via train with his injured friend Heinz, but the man dies en route, leaving Georg, in Marseille, forced to bring news of Heinz's passing to his deaf wife Melissa and son Driss, who live in the city illegally.

When Georg finally attempts to turn in Weidel's papers to the Mexican consul, he is mistaken for Weidel (as he had hoped) and impersonates him, and is given transit visas for himself and Weidel's wife Marie (Paula Beer). As matters complicate and Georg and Marie develop a romantic relationship, Transiit grows in emotional power and threat, and the film was eventually selected to compete for the prestigious Golden Bear in the main competition section at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival.

Other accolades for the film included a Best Screenplay citation at the 2019 Bavarian Film Awards, “Best of Masters” acknowledgment at the Portland International Film Festival, and a Best Film nomination at the Sydney Film Festival. Critics have been similarly effusive in singing the movie's praises. Slate magazine raved, “Christian Petzold's white-hot existentialist noir Transit is perhaps the best World War II film since Paul Verhoeven's Black Book.” New York Magazine stated, “Once Transit's bitterly ionic vision takes hold, it eats into the mind.” And the Chicago Tribune called the film “an audacious reminder that there's more than one way to adapt a so-called 'period' novel for a new era.”

Transit, which will be presented in German and French with English subtitles, will enjoy an outdoor screening at Rozz-Tox on August 13 beginning at sundown or 8 p.m. (whichever comes first). Food and beverages will be available for purchase, and the screening itself is free, and for more information on the Kinogarten film series, visit RozzTox.com and the German American Heritage Center at GAHC.org.