SimilarScreen
Toyland

Toyland

1942: what happens when a German kid believes that his Jewish neighbors are going to Toyland?

20077.20h 13m

Overview

On a winter morning, a mother goes to waken her son Heinrich; his bed is empty. She leaves her flat to find him. The neighbors' door, with a Star of David painted on it, is ajar, the furnishings in disarray, the family gone. She asks passersby, runs to the police then on to the rail yard. Flashbacks show that Heinrich and the neighbors' son Paul are six years old and best friends. Paul's family's deportation is expected soon; Heinrich's mother tells her son that they're going to Toyland. Heinrich wants to go with them, has a bag packed, and listens for their departure. His mother realizes he's joined them, and her resolve becomes more urgent. Will she arrive in time to save Heinrich?

Directed by Jochen Alexander Freydank
Written by Jochen Alexander Freydank, Johann A. Bunners
Produced by Corona Bellin
0

Top Cast

Julia Jäger

Julia Jäger

Marianne

Cedric Eich

Cedric Eich

Heinrich

David C. Bunners

David C. Bunners

Obersturmführer

Torsten Michaelis

Torsten Michaelis

Herr Silbertein

Claudia Hübschmann

Claudia Hübschmann

Frau Silberstein

Gregor Weber

Gregor Weber

SS-Mann Werner

Jürgen Trott

Jürgen Trott

Schutzpolizist

Klaus-Jürgen Steinmann

Klaus-Jürgen Steinmann

Blockwart

M

Matthias Paul

Gestapo Mann

Johanna Penski

Johanna Penski

Hausmeisterin (uncredited)

Themes & Keywords

winterflashbacklittle boyantisemitismneighborsoldier1940sworryshort film

About Toyland

Toyland is a drama, war film released in 2007 exploring themes of winter, flashback, little boy, antisemitism, neighbor, soldier. Directed by Jochen Alexander Freydank, it stars Julia Jäger, Cedric Eich, David C. Bunners. On a winter morning, a mother goes to waken her son Heinrich; his bed is empty. She leaves her flat to find him. The neighbors' door, with a Star of David painted on it, is ajar, the furnishings in disarray, the family gone. She asks passersby, runs to the police then on to the rail yard. Flashbacks show that Heinrich and the neighbors' son Paul are six years old and best friends. Paul's family's deportation is expected soon; Heinrich's mother tells her son that they're going to Toyland. Heinrich wants to go with them, has a bag packed, and listens for their departure. His mother realizes he's joined them, and her resolve becomes more urgent. Will she arrive in time to save Heinrich?

Movies Similar to Toyland

Discover titles like Toyland — ranked by similarity and community votes

We found 15 movies similar to Toyland

If you enjoyed Toyland, you'll love these handpicked recommendations. Each title below shares similar themes, tone, and storytelling style. Our algorithm analyzes genres, keywords, director filmography, and cast connections to find the closest matches. Whether you're looking for the same emotional depth, narrative structure, or visual style, these picks are curated to deliver the best viewing experience for fans of Toyland.

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
20% Match

19-year-old Billy Lynn is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing Iraq battle. Through flashbacks the film shows what really happened to his squad – contrasting the realities of war with America's perceptions.

The Island on Bird Street
20% Match

Alex is an 11-year old boy who, during WWII, hides in the Jewish ghetto from Nazis after all his relatives have been sent to the concentration camp. The movie portrays the ghetto through his eyes.

Stop-Loss
19% Match

Stop-Loss(2008)

Movie6.1/10

A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.

Au Revoir les Enfants
19% Match

Au revoir les enfants tells a heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss concerning two boys living in Nazi-occupied France. At a provincial Catholic boarding school, the precocious youths enjoy true camaraderie—until a secret is revealed. Based on events from writer-director Malle’s own childhood, the film is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening.

Hacksaw Ridge
18% Match

WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious Objector in American history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Exodus
18% Match

Exodus(1960)

Movie6.7/10

Ari Ben Canaan, a passionate member of the Jewish paramilitary group Haganah, attempts to transport 600 Jewish refugees on a dangerous voyage from Cyprus to Palestine on a ship named the Exodus. He faces obstruction from British forces, who will not grant the ship passage to its destination.

Süskind
16% Match

Süskind(2012)

Movie6.9/10

In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, Walter Süskind is a member of the Dutch Jewish Council who rescues hundreds of children from the concentration camps.

The Patriot
16% Match

After proving himself on the field of battle in the French and Indian War, Benjamin Martin wants nothing more to do with such things, preferring the simple life of a farmer. But when his son Gabriel enlists in the army to defend their new nation, America, against the British, Benjamin reluctantly returns to his old life to protect his son.

The Last Samurai
14% Match

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

War for the Planet of the Apes
13% Match

Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.

A Midnight Clear
13% Match

In 1944 France, an American Intelligence Squad locates a German Platoon wishing to surrender rather than die in Germany's final war offensive. The two groups of men, isolated from the war at present, put aside their differences and spend Christmas together before the surrender plan turns bad and both sides are forced to fight the other.

LOLA
13% Match

LOLA(2023)

Movie6.4/10

Sussex, England, 1938. Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Thomasina and Martha Hanbury, two ingenious sisters, create LOLA, a miraculous machine.