Oskar Matzerath is a very unusual boy. Refusing to leave the womb until promised a tin drum by his mother, Agnes, Oskar is reluctant to enter a world he sees as filled with hypocrisy and injustice, and vows on his third birthday to never grow up. Miraculously, he gets his wish. As the Nazis rise to power in Danzig, Oskar wills himself to remain a child, beating his tin drum incessantly and screaming in protest at the chaos surrounding him.
DIRECTOR
CAST

Mario Adorf
Alfred Matzerath

Angela Winkler
Agnes Matzerath

David Bennent
Oskar Matzerath

Katharina Thalbach
Maria Matzerath


Won 1 Oscar
Nominated for 1 Oscar

Language
Production
Companies
Countries
Box Office
Budget
$3,000,000
Revenue
$17,000,000
More Info
Keywords
puberty
adultery
lolita
suicide
based on novel or book
nazi
dwarf
gdansk, poland
circus
toxication
germany
married couple
pregnancy
world war ii
family's daily life
dark comedy
suffocation
lone wolf
kaschubia
synagogue
hitler youth
coming of age
family feud
red army
prenatal
1920s
1940s
new german cinema
1930s
invasion of normandy
war drama