Walk to Syracuse at filmforum Duisburg: A Moving Drama about Freedom

Walk to Syracuse: Wanderlust, Freedom and a Quiet Departure

A man, a grand dream, and a state that draws borders not only on maps: On Saturday, October 3, 2026, the filmforum Duisburg will show Lars Jessen's drama Walk to Syracuse. Charly Hübner portrays Paul Gompitz, a waiter from Rostock who yearns for Italy and is the only one from his environment to find the way back.

A film between wanderlust and homeland

Paul Gompitz lives in East Germany in the early 1980s. Reading Johann Gottfried Seume's travelogue ignites in him the desire to reach Sicily. From the wanderlust arises a years-long escape plan. The dramaturgy relies less on nerve-wracking thrillers and more on the persistent movement of a character who mentally works for her freedom step by step.

Charly Hübner and Lina Beckmann at the center

The production thrives on the precise acting skills of its leading actor. Charly Hübner gives Paul a laconic, stubborn, and simultaneously sensitive presence. Lina Beckmann plays his wife Anne with great internal tension. Between them, a theater atmosphere without a stage emerges: Glances, pauses, and casual dialogues convey love, loyalty, and the fear of endangering a familiar person through one's own dream.

Direction with a documentary perspective

Director Lars Jessen combines historical tragicomedy, literary adaptation, travelogue, and road movie. The set of the cinema transforms in the audience's imagination: Baltic landscapes, strictly controlled borders, and Mediterranean images of longing create a visual tension arc. Italy appears as a radiant counterpoint to the narrowness of everyday life in East Germany, while Paul’s connection to his homeland remains palpable.

A literary adaptation about self-assertion

The source material is Friedrich Christian Delius' narrative The Walk from Rostock to Syracuse, based on a true story. At the same time, the film connects to Johann Gottfried Seume's journey to Sicily. Thus, the production links German contemporary history with literary memory and raises the question of how far a person goes for a personal life plan.

Audience reaction and critical placement

Cultural and film critics particularly praise the interplay between Charly Hübner and Lina Beckmann as well as the sensitive gaze on everyday life in East Germany. At the same time, the film deliberately works with a calm narrative pace. Tension arises not only from the question of whether Paul’s escape succeeds, but from his wanderlust, his patience, and the moral conflict between departure and belonging.

What visitors can expect at filmforum

The screening begins on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at 6:15 PM at filmforum am Dellplatz 16 in Duisburg. The film lasts 97 minutes and is rated for ages 6 and up. A break is not scheduled. The filmforum provides the right setting for this concentrated stage experience on the screen: a movie night that combines historical experience, grand landscape images, and subtle acting.

Conclusion: Walk to Syracuse tells of a man who understands his freedom not as an abstract idea but as a concrete journey. Visitors can expect a sensitive drama about wanderlust, love, courage, and homeland. Those who want to experience Charly Hübner in a nuanced lead role and enjoy an extraordinary German movie night will find in filmforum a journey that resonates long after the credits roll.

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• Website: https://filmforum.de/

Sources:

• filmforum Duisburg – Program and Tickets
• filmforum Duisburg – Film Information on Walk to Syracuse
• FILMSTARTS – Review of Walk to Syracuse
• Filmdienst – Film Critique and Placement
• WDR 2 – Film Recommendation for Walk to Syracuse
• NDR Culture – Charly Hübner as the Stubborn East German Dreamer