Endstation Freiheit (1980)

Nik Dellmann regains his freedom after eight years in prison. He steps off the train in Munich, where he is met by his former girlfriend Eva. Also there are her current husband and their son, Janni. Nik feels strangely repelled by the family happiness, which exudes a cozy domesticity and the resulting bourgeois stuffiness, and declines their offer to take care of him at first. Nik wants to go his own way and put his past behind him. Using the name of his former cellmate, Henry Kirscher, he contacts Henry’s pen pal Leila, a respectable office worker who shares a home with a man named Beekenbrandt. Since Leila has never seen Henry, Nik can move in with her without difficulty, though his housemate watches him suspiciously. Nik had already begun writing while he was in prison. In the process, he has quite obviously developed considerable talent. He plans to draw on his experience as a convict for a novel titled “The Man Without a Shadow.” At the heart of the story will be the sophisticated, meticulously planned kidnapping of an industrialist. Eva, whom he visits from time to time, is an important critic of his writing and soon becomes a key source of support in his work as a writer. As Nik’s book project gradually takes shape, Henry Kirscher escapes from prison. A pistol bullet fired at him by a prison guard grazes his ankle. Henry immediately seeks out Nik, who treats his wound. Nik really wants to put his criminal past behind him once and for all, but he is not entirely averse to new misdeeds either—especially since Henry is doing his best to persuade him to attempt another job. At a cocktail party hosted by a publishing house, Eva introduces Nik to an influential editor. On the one hand, Nik is deeply repelled by the affected, self-satisfied cultural types who consider themselves the pinnacle of intellectual creation; on the other, he knows that the connections made there will be important if he is to find a publisher for his novel. For a moment, Nik loses his footing again and suggests to Henry, who is still hatching a “brilliant” plan for a job, that they kidnap Leila’s boss, the industrialist Dorsil. Nik’s plan is to use the crime as material for his kidnapping novel. Together they take care of the preparations, and everything goes exactly according to plan. When Nik goes to a pharmacy to get painkillers for Henry’s gunshot wound to the ankle, he pretends to call a doctor, but is actually speaking to Eva. She happily tells him that the publisher has decided to publish his novel. In a second, Nik’s idea of committing another crime—the kidnapping of Dorsil—bursts like a soap bubble. Nik makes it clear to Henry that he will no longer take part in the kidnapping. Henry, unlike Nik, is determined to carry out the plan because he sees no new prospects for his messed-up life. When Nik can no longer be persuaded, Henry leaves him in anger and disappointment. Soon the book’s publicity campaign gets under way: the previously unknown author Nik Dellmann is to be presented to readers in a major promotional push. Nik’s dislike of all the fuss has not changed, but he takes part because he has no choice. Meanwhile, Henry goes ahead with Nik’s plan and kidnaps Mr. Dorsil, holding him hidden in a disused side tunnel of the Munich subway. Henry demands a ransom, and soon he, too, is making headlines. Nik, meanwhile, takes part in a television literary talk show. Dorsil notices that Henry, who is guarding him, is in poor shape and has even temporarily lost consciousness. Henry’s gunshot wound simply will not heal and, to make matters worse, has become infected. At that moment, the wealthy industrialist manages to escape and alerts the police. A large force of state police cordons off the “Münchner Freiheit” station. Henry, now conscious again, staggers out of his hiding place and is shot dead. A television crew has filmed the end of the hostage crisis for the news. After the talk show ends, Nik sees his former prison mate and friend die on a screen in the television studio.