After its premiere in Italy on March 27, 2025, the historical drama The Tasters (original Italian title: Le assaggiatrici, German title: Die Vorkosterinnen), directed by Silvio Soldini, is now making its way to German cinemas. Starting on May 29, 2025, the film—featuring Max Riemelt in a leading role—is screening in selected theaters across the country.

Based on the novel Le assaggiatrici by Rosella Postorin, the story is set in the autumn of 1943. It follows young Rosa, who escapes the ruins of bombed-out Berlin and seeks refuge in a quiet, remote village near the eastern border, where her in-laws live. Her husband, stationed at the front, has urged her to stay there until he returns.

But Rosa soon uncovers a chilling truth: hidden beyond the nearby forest lies Hitler’s secret military headquarters—the Wolf’s Lair. Gripped by paranoia and convinced that his enemies will poison him, the Führer forces local women to serve as his food tasters. At dawn one morning, Rosa and several other young women are taken from the village and pressed into this grim service. As they navigate the daily threat of death and the constant pangs of hunger, the tasters forge unlikely friendships, secret alliances, and silent acts of resistance.