The Red baron

Europe, 1916. Filled with a sense of adventure and euphoria, 24 year old Manfred von Richthofen (Matthias Schweighofer), like many thousands of other young men, goes off to war.

A celebrated fighter pilot, he and his friends quickly become icons for the soldiers on the battlefields, and are admired by friends and foes alike.

They have their own code of honour, characterised by an athletic ambition, an obsession for technology and chivalrous respectability.

They decorate their airplanes with a variety of motifs. Manfred von Richthofen's red Fokker DR-I becomes a feared and yet venerated symbol of the flying squadrons of World War I.

However, von Richthofen soon realises that his status as a hero is misleading. His love for nurse Kate (Lena Headey) opens his eyes to the brutality and barbarity of war-a war that not only leaves no room for honourable chivalry, but also takes friends away from him who risk their lives in audacious air battles.

Director Nikolai Müllerschön has said:

A meticulous reconstruction of the Baron's life and the historical setting was not uppermost in mind, that didn't interest me so much. It is more important to see what is relevant for people today. I saw no sense in making the film like a well-researched documentary. However, during my preparation on the film and looking into the story of his life, the man seems to be more like how I thought he should be.

There has also never been any historical evidence to purport the

story that Manfred von Richthofen was ever romantically linked with his nurse.

This Warner Bros movie was released in 2008. For more information visit the official Red Baron site. (flash)

Red Baron Official Movie Site