Germany 2026
Opening September 17, 2026

Directed by: Hannu Salonen
Writing credits: Domenik Pockberger, Stephan Falk
Principal actors: Oliver Masucci, Felix Kammerer, Svenja Jung, Leonard Kunz

The title translates to “Adam’s Eight.” Karl Adam (Oliver Masucci) is a former boxer who now trains young men to compete in canoe rowing. The “Eight” refers to eight young men all sitting one behind the other, in one canoe. They are led by a ninth participant, Willy Padge (Vito Wiesner), who calls out the pace: “one, two three, four, etc.” They practice, determined to win every competition, including the most difficult: gold medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.

It’s mid-1950, in the days when Germany was a divided country. Karl selects athletes from Kiel and Ratzeburg. They practice rowing in the Küchensee, a lake near Ratzeburg, which is in Schleswig-Holstein in Western Germany. Naturally, our attention is directed to them working hard “like machines.” We also learn about the private lives of individual athletes. One rower, Hans Lenk (Felix Kammerer), loves Ulla (Svenja Jung), which is a problem as he must travel from West to East Germany, where she lives. We learn about the official Deutscher Ruderverband (German Rowing Association). Internationally they compete against countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Czechoslovakia, etc. The German team is not always popular with viewers, who often boo.

This is a great opportunity to follow a fascinating sport. The cast presents excellent actors; some are even rowing athletes in real life. Also excellent are the filming locations (see above). Best of all, this is based on a true story, featuring the names of real participants, all competing for Germany in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. (Becky T.)