''Colonia'' (released in the UK as ''The Colony'') is a 2015

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by

Florian Gallenberger Florian Gallenberger (born 23 February 1972 in Munich) is a German film director and writer. His film ''Quiero ser (I want to be...)'' was awarded the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2001. Career Gallenberger appeared in various ...

, produced by Benjamin Herrmann, written by Torsten Wenzel and Gallenberger, and starring

Emma Watson Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (born 15 April 1990) is an English actress. Known for her roles in both Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Emma Watson, ...

Daniel Brühl Daniel César Martín Brühl González (; ; born 16 June 1978) is a German and Spanish actor. He has received various accolades, including three European Film Awards and three German Film Awards, along with nominations for two Golden Globe Awar ...

, and

Michael Nyqvist Rolf Åke Mikael Nyqvist (; 8 November 1960 – 27 June 2017) was a Swedish actor. Educated at the School of Drama in Malmö, he became well known for playing police officer Banck in the 1997–1998 Martin Beck TV series and for his leading role ...

. The film is set against the backdrop of the 1973 Chilean military coup and the

Colonia Dignidad Colonia Dignidad (Dignity Colony' or 'Colony of Dignity') was an isolated colony established in post-World War II Chile by German Chileans, emigrant Germans which became notorious for the Human rights violations in Pinochet's Chile, internment, ...

, a notorious cult in the South of Chile, led by German lay preacher Paul Schäfer. ''Colonia'' is an

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint vent ...

of companies in the UK, Germany, Luxembourg, and France.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began on 2 October 2014 in Luxembourg; filming also took place in Germany and Argentina. ''Colonia'' held its world premiere at the

2015 Toronto International Film Festival The 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 September 2015. On 28 July 2015 the first wave of films to be screened at the Festival was announced. Jean-Marc Vallée's ''Demolition'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and N ...

in the Special Presentations section. The film was released in Germany on 18 February 2016, in the United Kingdom on 1 July 2016, and in France on 20 July 2016.

Plot

In 1973, Lena is a strong, independent and adventurous

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), trading as the Lufthansa Group, is a German aviation group. Its major and founding subsidiary airline Lufthansa German Airlines, branded as Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. It ranks List of largest airlin ...

stewardess and is in relationship with Daniel, a West German journalist and leftist activist living in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. Upon arrival in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, she reunites with him and they spend their days in the capital peacefully. One day, the two become entangled in the

1973 Chilean coup d'état The 1973 Chilean coup d'état () was a military overthrow of the democratic socialist president of Chile Salvador Allende and his Popular Unity (Chile), Popular Unity coalition government. Allende, who has been described as the first Marxist ...

by General

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

, in which supporters of deposed President

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...

are getting rounded up by the military. Daniel and Lena try to escape, but like thousands of others, they are picked up and taken to the

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football ...

in Santiago, where a defector identifies Allende's supporters. Some are shot on the spot, others, including Daniel, are abducted by Pinochet's secret police DINA. After Lena is released, she tries to find and save him. The pursuit leads her to "Colonia Dignidad", an isolated secret organisation living in a sealed-off rural farmland and enclave near the

Andes mountains The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

. The organisation presents itself as a charitable mission run by Paul Schäfer, a former ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

'' colonel and army medic who evaded capture and trial following World War II by disguising himself as a Lutheran pastor and lay minister, later fleeing to Chile to build the organisation. Lena joins the organisation to rescue Daniel, only to learn it is a

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

that combines

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

-style tenets, punitive agrarian lifestyles,

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

, and aggressive

anti-Communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...

, from which no one has ever escaped. She witnesses Doro, a fellow member, get brutally beaten and humiliated at the men's section after it is revealed that she wanted to marry another cult member. Lena skinny dips in a nearby pond in order to be brought over to the men's section for the same punishments so that she can find Daniel. After a power outage, she later finds him; he has acted mentally disabled so he would be overlooked. When they reunite, the couple discover the organisation is also an illegal operations centre for DINA, who also use it as a political prison, trafficking ring, and torture venue for dissidents of Pinochet. With the help of a pregnant nurse named Ursel, Lena and Daniel attempt to escape from Colonia Dignidad. During the escape, they are discovered and Ursel is killed but Lena and Daniel escape to the West German embassy. They discover that the West German ambassador and the embassy staff are cooperating with Schäfer, but they manage to make their escape at the airport and exit the country by air, with incriminating photographic evidence against Colonia Dignidad.

Cast

as Lena, a young flight attendant working for the German airline Lufthansa who joins the cult Colonia Dignidad to rescue her boyfriend Daniel. *

as Daniel, Lena's boyfriend, a West German activist working in Chile as a journalist who is kidnapped by General

's secret police DINA. *

as Paul Schäfer, the leader of Colonia Dignidad. * Richenda Carey as Gisela *

Vicky Krieps Vicky Krieps (born 4 October 1983) is a Luxembourgish-German actress. She has appeared in a number of American, Luxembourgish, French, and German productions. Her breakout role was in the London-based period film ''Phantom Thread'' (2017), direct ...

as Ursel * as Doro *

Julian Ovenden Julian Mark Ovenden (born 29 November 1976) is an English actor and singer. He has starred on Broadway and West End stages, in television series in both the United Kingdom and United States, in films, and performed internationally as a concert ...

as Roman Breuer *

August Zirner August Zirner (born 7 January 1956) is an American-Austrian actor, who starred in over 60 film productions. He is one of the most popular actors in Germany. Biography Zirner was born as son of Austrian Jewish immigrants in the United States in ...

as German Ambassador *

Martin Wuttke Martin Wuttke is a German actor and director. He has performed on many stages in the German-speaking theatre world, as well as in numerous films and TV series. He achieved international recognition for his portrayal of Adolf Hitler in the 2009 f ...

as Niels Biedermann * as

Manuel Contreras Juan Manuel "Mamo" Guillermo Contreras Sepúlveda (4 May 1929 – 7 August 2015) was a Chilean Army officer and the former head of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), Chile's secret police during the dictatorship of General Augusto ...

* Nicolás Barsoff as Jorge * Marcelo Vilaro as

Production

On 29 September 2014, it was announced that

and

would star as a couple in the upcoming film which is based on a real historical background, directed by

who co-wrote the script with Torsten Wenzel. Benjamin Herrmann would be producing the film through Majestic Filmproduktion, and Nicolas Steil would co-produce through Iris Productions. Kolja Brandt would be director of photography, and Hansjörg Weißbrich would be the film editor. On 27 October,

joined the film to star as Paul Schäfer.

began on 2 October 2014 in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, where it was shot in

Haut-Martelange Haut-Martelange (Luxembourgish: ''Uewermaartel'') is a village in northwestern Luxembourg. It is situated in the commune of Rambrouch, right along the border with Belgium. It has a population of 19 as of 2024. Slate industry During the 19th ...

near

Rambrouch Rambrouch ( or (locally) ; is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune and small town in western Luxembourg, in the Redange (canton), canton of Redange. It lies close to the border with Belgium. Rambrouch was formed on 1 January 1979 from the former co ...

on the Luxembourg-Belgium border. Filming in Luxembourg lasted through the end of October, and then the production moved to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

for further shooting in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. It was also shot in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

until early 2015.

Release

''Colonia'' premiered at the

on 13 September 2015. Shortly after, Screen Media Films acquired U.S distribution rights to the film. The film also screened at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

on 12 February 2016. The film was released in Germany on 18 February 2016 by Majestic Filmverleih, in the United Kingdom on 1 July 2016 by Signature Entertainment. and in France on 20 July 2016 by Rezo Films. The film was released to a limited run in the United States and Canada on 15 April 2016.

Reception

Box office

''Colonia'' grossed $15,709 in the United States and Canada and $3.6 million in other countries, giving a worldwide total of $3.62 million. In Germany, ''Colonia'' grossed $608,337 in its opening weekend. After seven weeks, the film grossed a total of $1.9 million. In the United Kingdom, the film was released in three cinemas nationwide, as part of a distribution deal geared towards

video-on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting ...

. The film grossed just $61 (£47) in its opening weekend.

Critical response

On review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

the film has a rating of 26% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 4.23/10.

Accolades

''Colonia'' received 5 nominations from the

German Film Awards The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the German film industry. Besides being the most important ...

, including Best Supporting Actor. {, class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 99%;" , - ! scope="col", Year ! scope="col", Award ! scope="col", Category ! scope="col", Recipients ! scope="col", Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable", , - , rowspan="9", 2016 ,

Bavarian Film Awards The Bavarian Film Awards () are film awards given to German films in the state of Bavaria, awarded by the state government. Background and description The Bavarian Film Awards have been awarded annually since 1979 by the state government of Bav ...

, Best Production , , , style="text-align:center;", , - , rowspan="5",

German Film Award The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. Besides being ...

s , Best Editing , Hansjörg Weißbrich , , rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;", , - , Best Production Design , Bernd Lepel , , - , Best Costume Design , Nicole Fischnaller , , - , Best Sound , , , - , Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role ,

, , - ,

Golden Trailer Awards The Golden Trailer Awards are an American annual award show for film trailers founded in 1999. The awards also honor the best work in all areas of film and video game marketing, including posters, television advertisements and other media, in 10 ...

, Best Foreign Thriller Trailer , , , style="text-align:center;", , - , rowspan="2", Women Film Critics Circle Awards , Adrienne Shelly Award , ''Colonia'' , , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", , - , Best Female Action Hero ,

, , - , 2017 , Jupiter Awards , Best International Actress , Emma Watson , , style="text-align:center;", , -

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Colonia 2015 films British historical thriller films German historical thriller films French historical thriller films Luxembourgian historical thriller films 2010s historical thriller films 2015 thriller films Films about Colonia Dignidad Films about the Chilean military dictatorship Films about Nazi fugitives in South America Films about coups d'état Films about cults Films set in 1973 Films set in Chile Films shot in Bavaria Films shot in Berlin Films shot in Buenos Aires Films shot in Luxembourg Films scored by Fernando Velázquez 2015 multilingual films 2010s English-language films 2010s Spanish-language films British multilingual films French multilingual films German multilingual films Luxembourgian multilingual films English-language French films English-language German films English-language Luxembourgian films Spanish-language British films Spanish-language French films Spanish-language German films 2010s British films 2010s French films 2010s German films Films about kidnapping German political thriller films British political thriller films French political thriller films Luxembourgian political thriller films Films about flight attendants Cultural depictions of German people Cultural depictions of Chilean people Cultural depictions of religious leaders Cultural depictions of rapists Films about neo-Nazis Cultural depictions of military officers Cultural depictions of politicians English-language historical thriller films