Die schwarze Mühle (1975)

The young wanderer Krabat spends the night at the home of the farmer Jan and his fiancée, Mirka, who tell him about the Black Miller, their feudal lord. The next day, Krabat meets the miller, who takes him to his mill. Seven seemingly apathetic farmhands work there, grinding stones into gold. The miller offers Krabat a position, but another worker must be dismissed for him to take it. When Krabat agrees, the miller, to Krabat’s horror, turns one of his servants into a wild boar and takes Krabat on in the servant’s place. Only then does Krabat discover that the miller is a dark sorcerer who turns his farmhands into ravens overnight to stop them from escaping and, at the same time, to prevent any mother from discovering her captive son. Only if a mother discovered her son would the miller be forced to restore a servant’s freedom. Krabat befriends Markus, another farmhand, and learns where his parents’ home is. That night, the boy flies there and tells Markus’s mother where her son is. The miller discovers that Krabat has something special about him and gives both him and Markus magical powers. When Markus’s mother frees them from the mill, they want to take up the fight against the miller. Just before leaving, Krabat manages to steal his former master’s spellbook. From it, he learns that the Black Miller’s power depends on the mill’s operation, and that the millstream is fed by a swamp. Shortly afterward, the miller kidnaps Mirka and uses magic to bring her under his control; he turns Jan into stone. Krabat manages to free Mirka, but apparently meets his death in the process. Meanwhile, Markus hires himself out as a court jester to the king. Krabat also wants to enter the king’s service so he can find his friend again. The miller, who is also at the royal court, turns Markus into a wolf during a hunt, so Krabat shoots him, believing he is the miller in wolf form. Krabat now makes the final decision to kill the Black Miller. Markus’s mother persuades the villagers under the miller’s rule to dig a ditch that drains the swamp, bringing the wheels of the Black Mill to a standstill. Krabat faces the miller one last time and ultimately defeats him.