Atlas (2018)

Walter Scholl, 60 and a former weightlifter, works as a furniture mover for a company that carries out evictions. Of all his colleagues, Walter is the most loyal employee to his company, despite the pain this backbreaking job causes him. Meanwhile, his boss, Roland Grone, has struck a deal with a criminal Arab clan that has entire buildings cleared of their tenants. On one such job, Walter recognizes the last tenant, who refuses to move out, as his son, Jan Haller. Jan, however, does not recognize him, since Walter was denied visitation rights when Jan was four years old. When the clan attacks Jan, Walter—who had only wanted to slip him a letter—unexpectedly protects him. This initially leads to a friendship between Walter and the family, without Walter revealing that he is Jan’s father. The family is under strain: Jan’s wife, Julia, is inclined to move out, if only to keep four-year-old Karl out of danger, but Jan is determined to stand up for his rights, even alone. This puts Walter in a dilemma, since he also feels indebted to his boss. When he tells Jan that he works for Grone, Jan’s gratitude turns to open distrust, and he throws Walter out. Walter tries to reason with his new colleague, Moussa Afsari, an aggressive member of the clan in question. Moussa respects Walter’s wish to protect his son, but remains firm on the matter. When Moussa openly announces that he will keep going after Jan Haller, Walter spontaneously beats him to death with a weight plate and buries the body. Suspicion among Moussa’s family and clan quickly focuses on Walter, making him a hunted man. To force Jan to move out and thereby protect him, Walter picks Karl up from kindergarten and fakes a kidnapping. When he brings Karl home that evening, Jan follows him, but clan members shoot Walter in front of Jan, seriously wounding him. Now obliged to render assistance, Jan recognizes his father by a tattoo on his forearm depicting Atlas with the globe. In the final scene, the Haller family visits Walter in prison.