Ciné Club Series: Diplomacy by Volker Schlöndorff

Join us for Diplomacy (Diplomatie), Volker Schlöndorff’s acclaimed meditation on war, duty, and resistance, presented in partnership with the Goethe-Institut Boston. Widely praised as “a fascinating moral debate about war” (San Francisco Chronicle), the film is a tense and elegantly crafted historical thriller set during the final hours of the Nazi occupation of Paris in August 1944.

As Allied forces approach the capital, Swedish Consul Raoul Nordling engages in a tense overnight confrontation with German General Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor ordered by Hitler to destroy Paris before liberation. With explosives already planted across the city’s bridges and monuments, the fate of Paris hangs on a psychological duel between diplomacy and blind obedience.

Adapted from Cyril Gély’s acclaimed stage play, Diplomacy unfolds almost entirely inside the Hôtel Meurice, transforming a historical negotiation into a gripping chamber thriller. Through extraordinary performances by André Dussollier and Niels Arestrup, the film explores moral responsibility, patriotism, resistance, and the fragile power of dialogue in times of war.

“FASCINATING... [Schlöndorff’s] precise, restless camera creates a feeling of claustrophobic suspense as the plot races against the clock..” —A.O. Scott - The New York Times

"Flawless... provocative and thoughtful... never ceases to compel."– Kenneth Turan - Los Angeles Times

"A LOVE STORY ABOUT PARIS. An alluring story, beautifully dramatized and acted."– Ian Baruma - The New York Review of Books

Watch the trailer

The evening will include a reception where guests can connect and share their thoughts over a celebratory glass of wine.

Movie in French and German with English subtitles.