A neo-Nazi organization is recruiting in the 1980s, and two youths of high-school age join for similar reasons, despite class differences. Thomas is the son of a self-made industrialist father and a scolding social-climbing mother. He attends private school and has a brother who's an accomplished musician, but neither can satisfy mom's constant demands for school and social success. She belittles them, and there's incessant bickering at their table. Charly, a dropout, is the son of an abusive, alcoholic laborer. In the youth group, each finds order, respect, camaraderie, and adults who seem to value them. Where do domestic abuse and sanctioned political violence end?

Director Wolfgang Lesowsky's captivating biopic of the Gustav Mahler stars Reinhard Hauser as the passionate conductor-composer whose drive for greatness and love of music were rivaled only by his insatiable desire for beautiful women. Through biographical narration and dramatic reenactments, Lesowsky paints a stylish portrait of the mercurial genius, widely regarded as one of the most important composers of the late romantic era.