The new film from Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall, Five Minutes of Heaven) tells a tense and largely unknown story based on true events.

In 1939 carpenter Georg Elser – impressively played here by The White Ribbon’s Christian Friedel – planted a homemade bomb behind Hitler’s lectern at a Nazi Party meeting. But the Führer left the meeting earlier than planned, with the explosion detonating 13 minutes later.

With the blast occurring at the beginning of the film, Hirschbiegel cleverly uses the Nazi’s subsequent interrogation of Elser to reveal in flashback as to why and when this ordinary but strong-willed man concocted his plan.

13 Minutes is a fascinating tribute to an act of great courage.

★★★★ The Independent

Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel, 114 minutes, Germany, 2015,
Cert: CLUB