In the 1920s, a young boy named Oskar Matzerath lives in the Free City of Danzig with his mother Agnes, his father Alfred, and his mother's lover Jan. Oskar's parentage is uncertain, and he is the product of an affair between Agnes and Jan. Oskar's grandfather Joseph Kolaizcek had a similar scandal, impregnating a young woman named Anna Bronski before disappearing forever. Oskar recounts his life story as an unreliable narrator, focusing on his decision to stop growing at the age of three, just as Nazism is rising in Germany. On his third birthday, Oskar is given a tin drum and resolves to never grow up, just like his drunken parents and friends. He soon discovers that he can shatter glass with his voice and uses this ability to express his frustration. Oskar also befriends Bebra, a circus dwarf who chose to stop growing at age 10. As the Nazi party gains power in Danzig, Oskar witnesses their rise to power and attends a rally where he uses his drumming to make the members dance. Meanwhile, Agnes becomes pregnant with Jan's child and binge eats eels to cope with her guilt before eventually abandoning her family for her lover Jan. As the Second World War breaks out, Alfred joins the German army, leaving Oskar alone with his drum. The Tin Drum explores themes of family, war, politics, sexuality through surreal and absurd elements, making it a powerful and thought-provoking film.

You can stream The Tin Drum on:

Some movies that have similar genres and were produced around the same time as The Tin Drum include The Killing Fields, The Road To Pearl Harbor, 1919-1941, A Bridge Too Far, Midway, Kagemusha, Overlord.

The Tin Drum was released in theaters on April 11, 1980.