The Tasters

Writers: Doriana Leondeff, Silvio Soldini, Lucio Ricca, Cristina Comencini, Giulia Calenda and Ilaria Macchia based upon the novel At the Wolf’s Table by Rosella Postorino

Director: Silvio Soldini

The Tasters is based upon a true story. There have been doubts raised about the veracity of the source material but director Silvio Soldini adheres to the advice that one should always favour the legend.

In 1944 Germany Rosa Sauer (Elisa Schlott) jumps out of the frying pan into the fire. With her husband in the army and weary of the bombing raids she quits Berlin and seeks refuge with her in-laws in the Polish village of Gross-Partsch. But she is not the only one to have that idea- Adolf Hitler, growing increasingly paranoid, has also moved to the area setting up a headquarters called the Wolf’s Lair.

Rosa has barely arrived when she and a group of neighbouring women are taken to the Wolf’s Lair and subjected to a series of medical tests to ensure they are healthy then served a vegetarian meal. There is, of course, no such thing as a free lunch- The Tasters are required to sample meals before they are served to the Führer in case the ingredients are poisoned.

Although Rosa is initially regarded with suspicion, being from outside the area, eventually the women form alliances. This is dangerous as one of them is a true faith supporter of The Third Reich, and they have to consider what to do in the face of rumours of the Reich crumbling and Allied forces approaching. Rosa, lonely as her husband is declared missing in action, unwisely starts a sexual relationship with the commanding officer Albert Ziegler (Max Riemelt).

The relationship between Rosa and Ziegler is characterised less by passion than by a mutual need for comfort. Rosa, missing her husband, is lonely while Ziegler is haunted by his past actions and suffers from nightmares.  Elisa Schlott makes Rosa an unlikely rebel, so timid she is unable to comply with the suggestion of her in-laws that she try and escape.  Again, loneliness prompts Rosa to behave out of character and she forms a friendship with Elfriede (Alma Hasun) who has a definite reason for keeping her head down but takes risks out of common decency.

Rather than dwell on the atrocities committed by the Nazis The Tasters concentrates on their mistreatment of German citizens.  Abortion is forbidden, suggesting the duty of women is perceived as producing children, compelling the women to clandestinely work together and help someone who has fallen pregnant and needs to terminate the birth. Rosa can have no illusions about how low she is in Ziegler’s estimation; when she falls ill after consuming contaminated honey he callously allows her to be treated as a laboratory specimen.

The bizarre subject matter might lend itself to a dark comedy. Director Soldini, however, treats the material with sensitivity and limits any humour.  Perhaps to demonstrate how citizens of The Reich wilfully ignore the extreme actions going on around them the chef who prepares the meals treats the women as paying clients rather than test subjects. He asks the baffled and terrified Tasters if they can detect the unusual spices used in the food, boasts of the Führer’s praise for his meals and gossips about Hitler’s sleeping habits.

Soldini takes an understated approach. The Tasters begin as individuals – one says grace before eating while another consumes the meals with relish- but rapidly become a fatalistic group feeling they risk death every day so they might as well comply with the demands of the soldiers and at least they get fed; albeit on occasion at gunpoint.

The discreet approach limits the tension. It is stated at an early point in the film one of The Tasters supports the regime so it is only a matter of time before a betrayal arises. A lingering image is that of Rosa with blood on her hands as if to highlight the difficulty of remaining neutral in times of conflict. The Tasters, although acting under compulsion, could be regarded as complicit in the actions of the authorities.  Disappointingly, however, a potentially fascinating theme – of how citizens respond when a repressive regime shows signs of failure- is not explored. Rosa’s family huddle together passively and take no action upon hearing an incorrect report of Hitler’s death.

The restrained atmosphere ensures The Tasters tackles a potentially distasteful subject without causing offence but limits the emotional impact of the film.

The Tasters will be available in UK & Irish cinemas from 13th March.