故事的讲述者——一位乡村教师回忆起一战前夕，德国北部某村庄里的一系列离奇往事。医生骑马回家的时候被绳索绊倒受伤，人们马上展开调查的同时，牧师对两名晚归的孩子施以体罚，并为孩子们系上了象征纯洁的白丝带。第二天，一名佃农的妻子因事故身亡，乡村教师在河边发现男孩马丁在高处行走，马丁声称想知道上帝是否要惩罚他。教师与男爵家的保姆伊娃相识，彼此留下了良好印象。不久男爵主持了丰收典礼，身亡农妇的儿子认为男爵对母亲的死有责任遂破坏了男爵的菜园泄愤。所有这些恶性事件可能的始作俑者迟迟没有调查出来，纵火和针对儿童的毒打仍然发生。第二年费迪南大公遇刺之后，教师似乎发现了一些线索，但却被牧师强硬地制止了……
本片获2009年戛纳电影节金棕榈奖、影评人费比西奖。

In 1960, in a rural part of West Germany, an American military base is set up in a small village of 250 inhabitants. Now, 6000 soldiers are living in the region, and although no one really likes them, everybody is doing business with them. Some turn old barns in "typically American bars" where GIs can spend their pay for drinks; numerous prostitutes are visiting the region regularly to allow the Americans to forget about their homesickness for several costly minutes; others benefit from the construction of a military air base.
Robert Neidhardt belongs to the last group. He is a disillusioned man who only wants to make some quick money. Robert supplies the gravel for the runway construction. But the black market turns out to be most profitable: Robert sells the gravel underhand to German contractors, thus earning twice with every delivery. But one night, Robert is pursued by the police who want to stop black market activities. On his flight, Robert runs over two pedestrians. Although the accident is not his fault, Robert does not go to the police, and his unscrupulousness takes him to extreme measures.