Filmtank

“The belief in revolution, which is identical to the belief in the kingdom, or better still: the belief in God’s Kingdom, is the only real path.”  Ernesto Cardenal
In 1982 Michael N., a twenty-year old novice from South Tyrol leaves Europe to become a missionary in Bolivia and dedicate his life to help the poorest of the poor. Shocked by the conditions he finds there and fascinated by the theology of liberation preached by the Jesuits - who are striving for social change in South America - he joins the Jesuit religious order. The ardent catholic stays eight years in Bolivia. He leaves the novitiate and together with other students founds the revolutionary Guerilla-group Frente Liberacion National. As head of a suicide guerilla commando, he kidnaps Bolivia’s Coca-Cola boss in 1990. The kidnapping drags on for several months until finally Michael is shot dead in a hail of bullets by Bolivian special units.
Against the backdrop of the disturbing activities of today’s holy warriors, who are mainly Muslim and conduct their suicide attacks to become martyrs in a fight for theocracy, the film tells the story of the Christian holy warrior Michael.

D / I
2007
90 / 52 mins.