A three year old boy witnesses the state of moral degradation and senses what is to follow on the eve of the Nazi takeover in 1930s Germany and hurls himself down the cellar stairs, thus stunting his growth and perpetuating his unchanging childish traits. As he lives through the horrors to come, he protests by banging his toy drum and unleashing shrieks of glass shattering proportions. From Gunter Grass' acclaimed book,
The Tin Drum is a crude, hard to stomach allegory featuring David Bennett as an insufferable child actor although the proceedings are sparked by exciting direction from Volker Schlondorff.
** 1/2 out of ****
