Räuber Kneißl (2008)

At the Schachermühle in the Dachau countryside, the Kneißl family leads a modest life in poverty. They manage to scrape by through petty theft and poaching. Mathias Kneißl first comes to the attention of the authorities as a child, after robbing an offering box. One day, his father is beaten to death by members of the Royal Bavarian Gendarmerie while fleeing. His mother has to go to prison. Mathias Kneißl and his brother Alois are later imprisoned as well after a shootout with the gendarmes pursuing them. Alois does not survive his prison sentence. When Mathias is released, he is full of hope and plans for the future. He wants to emigrate to America with his beloved Mathilde and build an honest new life there. However, they lack the money they need. Because of his life story and his time in prison, many employers refuse to hire this “convict.” Instead of the honest work Kneißl wants, desperation leads him to take part in a “sure thing” in which a wealthy farmer is to be robbed. But things do not go according to plan. Kneißl’s accomplice Holzleitner falls into the hands of the Munich police, and the authorities begin searching for Kneißl again. After the first law-enforcement officers are killed, there is no turning back for Kneißl.