Das Unheil (1972)

A small West German town in the early 1970s: Hille Vavra is on the verge of taking his Abitur, but finds it very hard to motivate himself. His father, Leonard Vavra, is the town’s Protestant pastor and is currently preparing an anniversary celebration for the Silesian expellees, to commemorate the rescue of the church bells from the Nazis. According to the Silesians, Pastor Vavra personally rescued the bells from Hitler. Hille’s mother and sister, Diemuth, also live in the parsonage. Hille is having an affair with an industrialist’s attractive wife and also seduces a classmate. His sister has returned from Italy disillusioned and heartbroken. A flashback shows how she had nude photographs taken by the town photographer; one day, they end up in the bathtub for everyone to see, which results in her father beating her. As the Silesians repeatedly rehearse for the upcoming bell festival, all kinds of trouble brew around the parsonage and the cathedral. A nearby industrial complex belches clouds of smoke and poisons the water. Older people begin to cough, and almost all the animals in a pet shop near the smokestacks die. Before long, the tap water is undrinkable. Protests and demonstrations break out. The director of the industrial company wants to hear none of it and unwaveringly supports the festivities. Hille hides a military deserter in the cathedral tower and gets into trouble with the police as a result. Soon, a student who had loudly denounced the environmental pollution is found dead in a river. The small-town residents now begin to complain about conditions as well. The bell festival does end in clashes, but afterward everyone calms down again.