Coup de Grâce

The story unfolds in 1919, amid the chaos of the Latvian War of Independence and the broader aftermath of World War I. Freikorps detachments are stationed to counter Bolshevik guerrillas, shaping daily life with orders, patrols, and sporadic engagements. The period’s instability drives the characters to make extreme choices that blur lines between duty and personal desire.

The action centers on a country château in the Latvian countryside near Riga, which serves as the temporary home of German Freikorps troops. The estate is a hub of hospitality and military discipline, hosting Sophie, her aunt, and the soldiers while supplies dwindle. The chateau's opulence clashes with the harsh realities of occupation and the looming threat of battle just beyond its doors.

💔 Love

Sophie pursues Erich with a desperate, free-spirited longing that unsettles the disciplined Freikorps unit. Erich remains emotionally distant, creating a tension between personal desire and professional duty. The romance is entangled with danger, secrecy, and the trauma of war, forcing characters to choose between attachment and loyalty. The evolving relationship acts as a focal point that reveals vulnerability in a war-scarred environment.

⚔️ Duty

The Freikorps soldiers navigate a fragile sense of duty in a collapsed postwar world, where orders dictate life-and-death actions. Erich leads with military precision, often at odds with his own feelings and the consequences of violence. The campaign against Bolshevik forces, the retreat, and the brutal realities of combat expose the moral costs of obedience. The conflict between obligation and humanity drives much of the film’s tension.

🗡️ Betrayal

Betrayal threads through personal relationships and loyalties as Sophie seeks affection outside her marriage to Erich. Deceptions and hidden motives surface among the officers, and Sophie’s alliances with Bolshevik allies complicate trust. The choices characters make under pressure lead to fatal outcomes, underscoring the fragility of bonds in wartime. The film culminates in a final act of betrayal through a fatal, decisive moment.