While a movie bringing together Emma Watson and Daniel Bruhl sounds promising on paper, unfortunately, “Colonia” didn’t really live up to the promise when I reviewed it at the Toronto International Film Festival. Regardless, those two leads are certainly magnetic and share some good chemistry, which should be enough for many to check it out, and a new international trailer has arrived.
READ MORE: Review: Emma Watson Tries To Rescue Daniel Bruhl In Thriller ‘Colonia’
Directed by Florian Gallenberger, the ’70s set picture follows a German activist who travels to Chile and finds himself thrown into the notorious Colonia Dignidad, a torture camp run by an enigmatic cult, all due to his support of Salvador Allende. Effectively disappeared, it’s up to his flight attendant girlfriend to go undercover as a nun (really) to Colonia Dignidad and rescue him from its clutches. Here’s the synopsis:
Chile, 1973. Lufthansa flight attendant Lena (Watson) is in Santiago to visit her boyfriend, Daniel (Brühl), a talented graphic artist creating images in support of embattled President Salvador Allende. When Allende is violently ousted, General Augusto Pinochet’s forces begin rounding up dissidents. Daniel is taken to the remote stronghold of Colonia Dignidad (“Dignity Colony”), home to a secret agricultural commune and crypto-fascist sect led by sinister minister Paul Schäfer (Michael Nyqvist). Daniel is interrogated and tortured, but feigns severe mental deterioration to stay alive. Valiant and wily, Lena travels to Colonia and offers herself up to Schäfer as a follower. She is determined to find and free Daniel — but first she must ensure that she herself can survive Schäfer’s crushingly oppressive, viciously misogynistic practices.
“Colonia” opens in Germany on February 18th. Screen Media Films will release the picture in the U.S., but no date has been set. Watch below and check out some new images too.
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