| Coup de Grâce | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Volker Schlöndorff |
| Produced by | Eberhard Junkersdorf Anatole Dauman |
| Written by | Jutta Brückner Margarethe von Trotta Geneviève Dormann |
| Starring | Margarethe von Trotta Matthias Habich Rüdiger Kirschstein |
| Music by | Stanley Myers |
| Cinematography | Igor Luther |
| Editing by | Jane Sperr |
| Distributed by | Cinema 5 Distributing |
| Release date(s) | October 22, 1976 (West Germany) February 5, 1978 (US) |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | West Germany France |
| Language | German French |
Coup de Grâce (German: Der Fangschuß, French: Le Coup de grâce) is a 1976 New German film directed by Volker Schlöndorff. It was adapted from the novel by the same name by the French author Marguerite Yourcenar. The title comes from the French expression, meaning "finishing blow".
In 1919 Latvia, a detachment of German soldiers is stationed in a chateau in the town of Kratovice to fight Bolshevik guerrillas. The chateau is the home of the soldier Konrad de Reval and his sister Sophie de Reval. Sophie is attracted to another soldier, a close friend of Konrad's named Erich von Lhomond. However, the reticent Erich rebuffs her advances. In retaliation, Sophie has trysts with other members of the military troop. Erich is noticeably angered by her behavior. Eventually, Sophie learns that Erich and Konrad are lovers. After this discovery, she joins the leftist guerrillas, whom she had been in contact with previously. Erich's soldiers capture her and her comrades. Sophie asks that Erich execute her himself, and he obliges. In a striking single tracking shot, we see Erich casually shoot Sophie in the head before joining in a photo with the other soldiers. As all board a train, the camera pans back to the corpses of the executed.
The events of the novel are seen from the point-of-view of the soldier Erich von Lhomond. However, the main character of the film is Sophie de Reval, played by Margarethe von Trotta, who also co-wrote the screenplay. The filmmakers felt that an audience of 1976 would more readily identify with the independence and resolve exhibited by Sophie than with Erich's repressed conservatism.
In addition, the Russian Civil War is only a vague backdrop in the novel, but the film depicts battlefield engagements with a brutal reality that makes the war a significant presence.
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