Georg, played by Franz Rogowski, is a German refugee who is fleeing Nazi-occupied France during World War II. In a desperate attempt to escape, he assumes the identity of a dead writer and obtains his visa for entry into Mexico. However, upon reaching Marseille, he is trapped in a bureaucratic limbo as his documents need to be validated by the Mexican Consulate, which is closed indefinitely due to the war.
As he waits, Georg stays in a hotel filled with other refugees in a city on edge, where everyone is trying to secure safe passage out of Europe. He befriends Driss, a young boy and aspiring boxer, who introduces him to a network of people seeking similar exits. Amidst the chaos, Georg meets Marie, played by Paula Beer, a mysterious young woman searching for her husband, who has disappeared while fighting in the ongoing war.
As Georg grows closer to Marie, he realizes that her husband may have the papers he needs to leave Marseille. He embarks on a dangerous mission to find her missing husband, all while trying to maintain his false identity and evade the constantly-roaming Nazi forces.
Transit, directed by Christian Petzold, is a haunting, atmospheric movie that explores themes of identity, displacement, and isolation amidst the chaos of war. It is based on a novel of the same name by Anna Seghers and is set in a timeless, dreamlike version of Marseille, where the past and present converge with profound implications. The movie premiered at the Berlinale Film Festival in 2018 and received critical acclaim for its unique approach to historical drama.
