Young Törless

In the pre-war Austro-Hungarian empire, Törless arrives as a new pupil at the elite boarding school "Prinz Eugen" in what is today Austria. When classmate Basini is caught stealing, Törless passively observes while two other classmates "punish" the thief. The two use sadistic rituals to torture and humiliate their victim while deriding him as their spineless submissive. Not until the two boys deliver Basini into the hands of a mob of agitated schoolmates does Törless publicly distance himself. (Berlinale)