Sanctuary

This film is a fast-paced emotional roller-coaster that will tear you heart apart with it's brutality. This is not one of those "sit back and relax" films that makes you drop a tear at the end. This one is emotionally challenging, uncomfortable and difficult to watch and will leave you overwhelmed and speechless, but still will make you watch it until the end by showing you that there is still a glimpse of hope. This film is certainly not for everyone, although you should at least try watching it.

Check out Wolfgang Petersen's 1977 film "The Consequence" (currently free at Amazon) which tells a very similar story of how parents could commit their "incorrigible" teens to these brutal institutional schools.

And if you make it to the end of "Sanctuary," you'll see that the German government has admitted these things were happening, and has paid restitution to some of the victims.

I'm write for the first time, because this movie took me to the guts, is so powerful to show how the Human race are bad...

I'm live in Switzerland, and in the 70'S same thing happens in my countries... So many young are suffer of child abuse, free violence and death, it is reality, not just a movie...

The Switzerland state has apologized for what it is to pass in the 70s only in 2015, and yet enormously young people who have passed through these camps are still today marked in blood...

I'm shocked to read the comment of Thomas in this tread, so naive and non-constructive, I thought this poor guy have never see the reality of the world we live... For a German guy it is a crook...

I have finally to say, Hitler has better treat his Hitlerian youth than the German government did after the war, it is sad...

Do not listen to the negative comments or say that it is exaggerating, they have not understood anything in life...

look without hesitation this Powerful movie but hard and realistic on a part of the German history which they should not be proud of...

I discovered this gem on Arte channel yesterday. Well, this is not SCUM, nor LES HAUTS MURS either but that remains a powerful indictment against boarding school, jailhouses for teens and showing how awful bullying behaviors can drive anyone to the worst extremities. You have already seen this kind of features before but that doesn't prevent you to appreciate this terrific authentic piece of work. Not for all audiences.

What should I say...cried when Rising Sun came out. Wolfgang's dreams, his family, friends, and his normal life were gone. Freistatt is like a smelter, melting the stubbornness and persistence, till the end only desperation survives...Fortunately they escaped from it finally, burying this memory with their past identities. New life would come, I just hope......

Just beginning my weekend with a German movie about a boy with an Oedipus Complex getting abused and tortured at a reform school. I like to start things off light with true stories like this and work my up to the darker stuff. The Germans have some mighty fine actors cuz I was really wanting to see some of these characters six feet under. The main kid was played by Louis Hoffman who was like 16 or 17 and delivers a powerhouse performance. I was seriously impressed. I saw him previously in that Netflix series Dark and a gay coming of age movie called Center of My World and he's definitely a brave actor and one to watch.