Caged Birds

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• 2020
• 1 hr 58 mins
• Suspense, Drama, Documentary

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Zurich in the early 1980s: The militant lawyer Barbara Hug wants to change the Swiss justice system from the ground up. During the youth riots - keyword "Züri brennt" - she represents rebellious left-wing autonomists such as the punk girl Heike and uses the court as a stage to draw attention to the abuses of a backward criminal justice system. One day, the rebellious son of an industrialist dynasty and professional criminal Walter Stürm, who has just escaped from prison, seeks her advice. The charismatic Stürm breaks all the rules, lives unconditional selfishness and repeatedly clashes with the system. Heike is not the only one to fall for his mischievous charm; Barbara is also attracted to her client. Stürm, of all people, becomes a symbol of freedom and the dignity of the individual in left-wing circles and in the youth movement - and thus the idol of an entire generation. When the "escapee king" ends up in prison again after fleeing to Istanbul, he is sent to solitary confinement. But this time the situation seems more hopeless than ever - he becomes suicidal and also goes on a grueling hunger strike. And the chronically ill Hug also neglects herself under the pressure of the situation to such an extent that her life hangs by a thread.