The Ogre (1996 film)

The Ogre German Der Unhold is a 1996 FrenchGerman drama film directed by Volker Schlndorff and starring John Malkovich, Gottfried John, Marianne Sgebrecht, Volker Spengler, Heino Ferch, Dieter Laser and Armin MuellerStahl. It was written by JeanClaude Carrire and Schlndorff, based on the novel The ErlKing by Michel Tournier. The story follows a simple man who recruits children to be Nazis in the belief that he is protecting them.

It is 1940 as Abel now narrates, and he is working as a car mechanic in Paris. His hobby is photography, in where he photographs the local children. But on one occasion where a girl named Martine takes his camera, he tells her off, upsetting her. She then accuses him of assaulting her, which although he did not at all, the police believe her, and he is put on trial. Fortunately for Abel, a war against Germany has broken out, and soldiers are urgently needed on the front. As a punishment for his uncommitted crime, he is sent to the army to fight off the invader.However, it is not long before France surrenders, and Abel and his comrades are sent to a camp in East Prussia. Whilst not working, Abel goes down to the forest to a hunting cabin where he feeds a blind moose. One day, he encounters a German officer who is curious about his affinity for animals. Several weeks later, the officer returns to Abel, and removes him from the camp. He takes him to Hermann Grings hunting lodge, where he now has a job looking after the animals on the estate. When Gring Spengler arrives, at first he seems cheerful and friendly, but it is soon realized that he is sadistic, bombastic and mentally unstable. After hearing news that he is needed in Berlin because of the failure on the Russian Front, he dismisses the whole company at the lodge, and so Abel loses his job. However, the officer allows him to have a job at the nearby Kaltenborn Castle, a military academy for boys. ........

Source: Wikipedia