Paul Is Dead (2000)

The film is set in the summer of 1980 in a German town somewhere in the provinces. Tobias is 13 years old and an avid Beatles fan. The days of the school holidays are long and mostly dull. The main source of excitement is a radio series on the history of the Beatles, presented week after week by radio host Alan Bangs. Roger, the owner of a record shop, is the first to tell him about the conspiracy theory “Paul is dead,” which claims that the dead Paul McCartney was replaced by a double as early as 1966. Tobias sets out to investigate and finds further clues. Earlier, he had already come across a white Volkswagen Beetle with English license plates that had suddenly appeared in town. Not only does it have the same license plate number as the one on the Abbey Road cover, it also seems to be the same rare model. Tobias is convinced that Paul McCartney’s murderer is in town, and he becomes increasingly caught up in the conspiracy theory, which now also involves the frail caretaker at his school: supposedly, he too can be seen as a passerby on the cover. In a delusion, Tobias is cornered by him in his house. Later, Tobias has another similar experience, in which he hides in a cupboard and watches Roger and the Englishman with the white Beetle. In a surreal shot, the Englishman appears to shoot Roger; Tobias then collapses. After the holidays, Tobias gets a new English teacher—none other than the Englishman with the white Beetle. He is certain that the man is McCartney’s murderer. Gradually, however, Tobias realizes that his new teacher is harmless. In early December 1980, the teacher is transferred to New York: the next day, John Lennon is shot there.