In a creative move that is perhaps as far away from Harry Potter – and indeed anything else on her resume to date – as you can imagine, star Emma Watson will be marching resolutely through the Chilean military coup of 1973 in order to save her significant other: the wayward Daniel Bruhl. That, in a nutshell, is the story underpinning director Florian Gallenberger’s historic period piece, Colonia, and today’s trailer highlights the pair’s plight after they risk everything to be reunited in the face of adversity.
Lending a face to that near-relentless evil is General Augusto Pinochet, the power-mongering dictator who ruled over Chile and its people with an iron fist in the early 70s. It was a turbulent period in the country’s history that began soon after Pinochet overthrew then-president Salvador Allende. Caught amidst this political turmoil is Watson’s brave young woman, Lena, who goes through Hell and high water in her attempt to find and locate her wayward spouse (Bruhl) after he is taken by Pinochet’s military forces.
All of this leads Watson’s determined lead to Colonia Dignidad (Dignity Colony), a dangerous stronghold that houses members of a secret agricultural sect led by a deluded minister (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo‘s Michael Nyqvist), though it’s this outpost that serves as Lena’s last remaining hope in her desperate plight.
Screen Media Films is handling international distribution for Colonia, though its expected to make its debut in Germany on February 18. Without a US release date set, you can get an early glimpse at the lead characters and their heart-wrenching story via the gallery below.
Chile, 1973. Lufthansa flight attendant Lena (Watson) is in Santiago to visit her boyfriend, Daniel (Brühl), a talented graphic artist creating images in support of embattled President Salvador Allende. When Allende is violently ousted, General Augusto Pinochet’s forces begin rounding up dissidents. Daniel is taken to the remote stronghold of Colonia Dignidad (“Dignity Colony”), home to a secret agricultural commune and crypto-fascist sect led by sinister minister Paul Schäfer (Michael Nyqvist). Daniel is interrogated and tortured, but feigns severe mental deterioration to stay alive. Valiant and wily, Lena travels to Colonia and offers herself up to Schäfer as a follower. She is determined to find and free Daniel — but first she must ensure that she herself can survive Schäfer’s crushingly oppressive, viciously misogynistic practices.
