Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Political prisoners brought to the colony were either killed or sent to other centers, but they were never integrated in the cult, and the Colonia Dignidad never welcomed newer members after coming to Chile on 1961. Nor Lena neither Daniel would have been included in the cult.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 8,9 (click to see context) from:
''The Colony'' is a 2016 co-production historical film directed by Florian Gallenberger and starring Creator/EmmaWatson, Creator/DanielBruhl and Creator/MichaelNyqvist.
to:
''Colonia'' (UK title: ''The Colony'' Colony'') is a 2016 co-production historical film directed by Florian Gallenberger and starring Creator/EmmaWatson, Creator/DanielBruhl and Creator/MichaelNyqvist.
Changed line(s) 16 (click to see context) from:
* ArchEnemy: Lena has Paul Schaefer, the cult leader who's holding her boyfriend captive.
to:
* ArchEnemy: Lena has Paul Schaefer, Schäfer, the cult leader who's holding her boyfriend captive.
Changed line(s) 18,19 (click to see context) from:
* BeleagueredBureaucrat: When Lena gets no help from Daniel's friends, she goes to Amnesty International and states that her boyfriend, a German citizen, was arrested by Chilean authorities and taken to ''Colonia Dignidad''. The director tells her that ''Colonia Dignidad'' is a government sanctioned charity organization, and that everything will be fine. He then [[CacophonyCoverUp turns on the radio]] to [[BigBrotherIsWatching mask their voices from the bugs,]] and tells her that there is nothing he, or his organization, can do to get him out, and tells her that once someone goes into ''Colonia Dignidad'', they don't come out.
* BigBad: Paul Schaefer, leader of the Colonia Dignidad.
* BigBad: Paul Schaefer, leader of the Colonia Dignidad.
to:
* BeleagueredBureaucrat: When Lena gets no help from Daniel's friends, she goes to Amnesty International and states that her boyfriend, a German citizen, was arrested by Chilean authorities and taken to ''Colonia Dignidad''. The director tells her that ''Colonia Dignidad'' is a government sanctioned government-sanctioned charity organization, and that everything will be fine. He then [[CacophonyCoverUp turns on the radio]] to [[BigBrotherIsWatching mask their voices from the bugs,]] and tells her that there is nothing he, or his organization, can do to get him out, and tells her that once someone goes into ''Colonia Dignidad'', they don't come out.
* BigBad: PaulSchaefer, Schäfer, leader of the Colonia Dignidad.
* BigBad: Paul
Changed line(s) 22 (click to see context) from:
* BuryYourDisabled: Schaeffer wants to test poison gas on Daniel, which he perceives as an useless mentally challenged person.
to:
* BuryYourDisabled: Schaeffer Schäfer wants to test poison gas on Daniel, which he perceives as an useless mentally challenged person.
Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
* CrisisOfFaith: Ursel no longer perceive Schaeffer as a divine prophet but rather as a tyrant.
to:
* CrisisOfFaith: Ursel no longer perceive Schaeffer Schäfer as a divine prophet but rather as a tyrant.
Changed line(s) 36 (click to see context) from:
* ForcedToWatch: Schaefer forces Dieter to watch the colony's men beat up Doro.
to:
* ForcedToWatch: Schaefer Schäfer forces Dieter to watch the colony's men beat up Doro.
Changed line(s) 48 (click to see context) from:
* KickTheDog: As if Schaeffer wasn't bad enough for being a cult leader and fascist torturer, he's revealed to molest the young boys of his cult.
to:
* KickTheDog: As if Schaeffer Schäfer wasn't bad enough for being a cult leader and fascist torturer, he's revealed to molest the young boys of his cult.
Changed line(s) 54 (click to see context) from:
** Ursel explicitely tells Lena Schaeffer loves little boys.
to:
** Ursel explicitely tells Lena Schaeffer Schäfer loves little boys.
Changed line(s) 56,57 (click to see context) from:
* ThePlace: Translates to "The Colony."
* PoisonGas: One Pinochet regime official asks Schaeffer about his advances in the chemical weapon project,
* PoisonGas: One Pinochet regime official asks Schaeffer about his advances in the chemical weapon project,
to:
* PoisonGas: One Pinochet regime official asks
Changed line(s) 60,66 (click to see context) from:
* ShaggyDogStory: Lena sees Daniel at a men's gathering for Doro. Lena figures that getting in trouble will get Daniel to see her at her gathering. Unfortunately, Daniel attempts to escape the colony that night (though his failure happens just in time to keep the men from further beating Lena) and it only worsens her reputation to the point that she earns Schaefer's attention.
* SlutShaming: as befit a conservative religious cult, it is often featured in the film.
** When joining the cult, Lena is told by Schaeffer her lace bra is immoral; later, she's told to remove her high hells because they are only worn by "whores."
** Part of the public humiliation of Doro is being called a whore and a slut for falling in love; later, Schaeffer tells her Dieter will never wants her because of her immoral behaviour.
** After found skinny-dipping, Lena is called a whore who polluted their waters with her immorality.
* TheSociopath: Paul Schafer, a cult leader who agrees to become a torturer for a dictator and molests the children of his parishioners.
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''La Colonia'' has several similarities to ''Film/{{Argo}}''. Both are based on true events, both are set in the Seventies, both start during the instauration of a new dictatorship in the country (respectively the Chilean coup d'etat of 1973 and the Iranian revolution of 1979), both are about a plan to free someone from the country, and both end [[spoiler: with a race against the clock in an airport to flee the country on an international flight.]]
* SlutShaming: as befit a conservative religious cult, it is often featured in the film.
** When joining the cult, Lena is told by Schaeffer her lace bra is immoral; later, she's told to remove her high hells because they are only worn by "whores."
** Part of the public humiliation of Doro is being called a whore and a slut for falling in love; later, Schaeffer tells her Dieter will never wants her because of her immoral behaviour.
** After found skinny-dipping, Lena is called a whore who polluted their waters with her immorality.
* TheSociopath: Paul Schafer, a cult leader who agrees to become a torturer for a dictator and molests the children of his parishioners.
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''La Colonia'' has several similarities to ''Film/{{Argo}}''. Both are based on true events, both are set in the Seventies, both start during the instauration of a new dictatorship in the country (respectively the Chilean coup d'etat of 1973 and the Iranian revolution of 1979), both are about a plan to free someone from the country, and both end [[spoiler: with a race against the clock in an airport to flee the country on an international flight.]]
to:
* ShaggyDogStory: Lena sees Daniel at a men's gathering for Doro. Lena figures that getting in trouble will get Daniel to see her at her gathering. Unfortunately, Daniel attempts to escape the colony that night (though his failure happens just in time to keep the men from further beating Lena) and it only worsens her reputation to the point that she earns Schaefer's Schäfer's attention.
* SlutShaming: asbefit befits a conservative religious cult, it is often featured in the film.
** When joining the cult, Lena is told bySchaeffer Schäfer her lace bra is immoral; later, she's told to remove her high hells heels because they are only worn by "whores."
** Part of the public humiliation of Doro is being called a whore and a slut for falling in love; later,Schaeffer Schäfer tells her Dieter will never wants want her because of her immoral behaviour.
** After Lena is found skinny-dipping,Lena she is called a whore who polluted their waters with her immorality.
* TheSociopath: PaulSchafer, Schäfer, a cult leader who agrees to become a torturer for a dictator and molests the children of his parishioners.
* SpiritualSuccessor:''La Colonia'' ''The Colony'' has several similarities to ''Film/{{Argo}}''. Both are based on true events, both are set in the Seventies, both start during the instauration of a new dictatorship in the country (respectively the Chilean coup d'etat of 1973 and the Iranian revolution of 1979), both are about a plan to free someone from the country, and both end [[spoiler: with a race against the clock in an airport to flee the country on an international flight.]]
* SlutShaming: as
** When joining the cult, Lena is told by
** Part of the public humiliation of Doro is being called a whore and a slut for falling in love; later,
** After Lena is found skinny-dipping,
* TheSociopath: Paul
* SpiritualSuccessor:
Changed line(s) 69 (click to see context) from:
* TestedOnHumans: Schaeffer plans to test his chemical weapons on Daniel, prompting him to flee.
to:
* TestedOnHumans: Schaeffer Schäfer plans to test his chemical weapons on Daniel, prompting him to flee.
Changed line(s) 71 (click to see context) from:
* TrailersAlwaysLie: The trailer portrays the movie as a by the numbers period-piece romantic melodrama with the titular colony as a simple backdrop. The movie itself is a dark and realistic tale about the horrors of the colony and the main character's escape, with the romance being an afterthought (if you could call it a "romance", since the main characters [[OfficialCouple are already together by the time the film starts and remain that way to the end.)]]
to:
* TrailersAlwaysLie: The trailer portrays the movie as a by the numbers by-the-numbers period-piece romantic melodrama with the titular colony as a simple backdrop. The movie itself is a dark and realistic tale about the horrors of the colony and the main character's escape, with the romance being an afterthought (if you could call it a "romance", since the main characters [[OfficialCouple are already together by the time the film starts and remain that way to the end.)]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 61 (click to see context) from:
* SSlutShaming: as befit a conservative religious cult, it is often featured in the film.
to:
* SSlutShaming: SlutShaming: as befit a conservative religious cult, it is often featured in the film.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* BuryYourDisabled: Schaeffer wants to test poison gas on Daniel, which he perceives as an useless mentally challenged person.
Added DiffLines:
* CrisisOfFaith: Ursel no longer perceive Schaeffer as a divine prophet but rather as a tyrant.
Added DiffLines:
** Ursel explicitely tells Lena Schaeffer loves little boys.
Added DiffLines:
* PoisonGas: One Pinochet regime official asks Schaeffer about his advances in the chemical weapon project,
Added DiffLines:
* SSlutShaming: as befit a conservative religious cult, it is often featured in the film.
** When joining the cult, Lena is told by Schaeffer her lace bra is immoral; later, she's told to remove her high hells because they are only worn by "whores."
** Part of the public humiliation of Doro is being called a whore and a slut for falling in love; later, Schaeffer tells her Dieter will never wants her because of her immoral behaviour.
** After found skinny-dipping, Lena is called a whore who polluted their waters with her immorality.
** When joining the cult, Lena is told by Schaeffer her lace bra is immoral; later, she's told to remove her high hells because they are only worn by "whores."
** Part of the public humiliation of Doro is being called a whore and a slut for falling in love; later, Schaeffer tells her Dieter will never wants her because of her immoral behaviour.
** After found skinny-dipping, Lena is called a whore who polluted their waters with her immorality.
Added DiffLines:
* TestedOnHumans: Schaeffer plans to test his chemical weapons on Daniel, prompting him to flee.
Added DiffLines:
* WouldHurtAChild: Ursel fears the child she had with a political prisoner might be killed, along with her, by the cult.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 8,10 (click to see context) from:
A 2016 film about the torture of political prisoners at Colonia Dignidad, Chile, during [[UsefulNotes/AugustoPinochet Pinochet's dictatorship]].
to:
It is about the torture of political prisoners at Colonia Dignidad,
Not to be confused with 2021's ''Film/{{The Colony|2021}}''.
Deleted line(s) 12 (click to see context) :
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 46 (click to see context) from:
* LighterAndSofter: It isn't obvious at first given the darkness of the movie, but some of the most disturbing elements of the real Colonia Dignidad (links with Nazism, the presence of Joseph Mengele in the colony, a few kidnappings of children from the local Chilean population) aren't mentioned in the film.
to:
* LighterAndSofter: It isn't obvious at first given the darkness of the movie, but some of the most disturbing elements of the real Colonia Dignidad (links with Nazism, the possible presence of Joseph Mengele in the colony, a few kidnappings of children from the local Chilean population) aren't mentioned in the film.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* KickTheDog: As if Schaeffer wasn't bad enough for being a cult leader and fascist torturer, he's revealed to molest the young boys of his cult.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 26 (click to see context) :
* DefiniteArticleTitle: It's about ThePlace known as "Colonia Dignidad".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 26 (click to see context) from:
* DefiniteArticleTitle: Translates to "The Colony", and it's about ThePlace known as "Colonia Dignidad".
to:
* DefiniteArticleTitle: Translates to "The Colony", and it's It's about ThePlace known as "Colonia Dignidad".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Moving for disambig. - https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/query.php?parent_id=91660&type=att#comment-261113
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/getmovieposter_colonia_1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:There is no turning back.]]
->''"You think that you made a mistake, you think that you should not have come here?"''
--> -- '''Schäfer to Lena'''
A 2016 film about the torture of political prisoners at Colonia Dignidad, Chile, during [[UsefulNotes/AugustoPinochet Pinochet's dictatorship]].
----
!! ''Colonia Dignidad'' contains examples of:
* ArchEnemy: Lena has Paul Schaefer, the cult leader who's holding her boyfriend captive.
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Played fairly straight with Lena's injuries as opposed to Daniel's.
* BeleagueredBureaucrat: When Lena gets no help from Daniel's friends, she goes to Amnesty International and states that her boyfriend, a German citizen, was arrested by Chilean authorities and taken to ''Colonia Dignidad''. The director tells her that ''Colonia Dignidad'' is a government sanctioned charity organization, and that everything will be fine. He then [[CacophonyCoverUp turns on the radio]] to [[BigBrotherIsWatching mask their voices from the bugs,]] and tells her that there is nothing he, or his organization, can do to get him out, and tells her that once someone goes into ''Colonia Dignidad'', they don't come out.
* BigBad: Paul Schaefer, leader of the Colonia Dignidad.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Lena and Daniel manage to leave the Colony - and then Chile - alive, but the Colony and Pinochet's dictatorship last for many years more. Also, they flee the colony with the nurse Ursel, who gets killed by a trap just after they discover they managed to escape the colony.]]
* BoobyTrap: In the tunnels beneath the Colony [[spoiler: and surrounding its fence. Poor Ursel...]]
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Daniel insisting on photographing the events in Chile gets him in trouble the first time by getting him arrested and almost blows his and Lena's cover later in the camp.
* ColdBloodedTorture: A common experience for prisoners at the Colony.
* CorruptPolitician: After [[spoiler: Lena and Daniel escape the Colony, they drive to the West German Embassy to tell their government and the world of what was going on in Chile. The ambassador assures them that everything will be alright, but he locks them in a room at the airport so that that Schäfer can take them back to the Colony.]]
* TheCoup: The film's plot starts in the wake of Chile's 1973 military coup, when thousands of political opponents were rounded up for torture or execution.
* {{Cult}}: Colonia Dignidad, a frightening sect which segregated its members by sex, forbids them to leave, brutally punishes any violations of its rules, manufactures weapons and collaborates with the Chilean military dictatorship to detain and torture political prisoners.
* DefiniteArticleTitle: Translates to "The Colony", and it's about ThePlace known as "Colonia Dignidad".
* DistressedDude: Daniel, who is illegally arrested and tortured by Chilean soldiers after the coup d'etat.
* ElectricTorture: Schäfer's preferred means of torture.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Schäfer's "comfort" of Daniel after overseeing his torture at the hands of Chilean soldiers.
* FanDisservice: Good-looking people in their underwear? Yay! Good-looking people in their underwear being tortured? Noyay!
* FanService:
** Daniel cooks breakfast in only an apron while Lena takes pictures of him in only a shirt.
** Lena takes off her clothes and swims naked in the river next to the colony.
* ForcedToWatch: Schaefer forces Dieter to watch the colony's men beat up Doro.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Pinochet and his regime, who used Colonia Dignidad as a clandestine prison and torture center, as well as a weapons manufacturing plant.
* HeroicBSOD:
** While exploring the underground tunnels of The Colony for a way out, Daniel bursts into tears as he stumbles into the torture chamber that contains the metal bed he was chained to and the generator used to electrocute him.
** Lena has one after [[spoiler:Ursel is killed right after they escaped the colony.]]
* HopeSpot:
** [[spoiler:Lena and Daniel manage to escape to the outside of the colony's walls with Ursel. Relieved, Ursel thanks them for saving her, then walks forward to lead the way back to freedom... until to be shot dead on the spot by a BoobyTrap.]]
** [[spoiler: After successfully leaving the colony, Lena and Daniel go to the West German embassy in Santiago, asking for help to leave the country. The ambassador offers to drive them to the airport in a diplomatic vehicle, but it turns out to be a trap arranged with the Chilean regime and the Colony, to bring them back to Schäfer.]]
* ItsAllMyFault: Lena blames herself for [[spoiler:the death of Ursel and her unborn baby, feeling that they would have lived if she had not convinced Ursel to escape the colony with her and Daniel.]]
* KarmaHoudini:
** Within the film, neither Schäfer or Pinochet face punishment for their crimes. Schäfer was eventually convicted on molesting children and died in prison. Pinochet, however, died before he could be tried.
** The Epilogue also states that [[spoiler:the West German Embassy]] was complicit with both the Pinochet regime and the Colony, but no one who worked there was prosecuted for any wrong doing.
* LighterAndSofter: It isn't obvious at first given the darkness of the movie, but some of the most disturbing elements of the real Colonia Dignidad (links with Nazism, the presence of Joseph Mengele in the colony, a few kidnappings of children from the local Chilean population) aren't mentioned in the film.
* ObfuscatingDisability: Daniel pretends to be mentally disabled from brain damage due to his torture so he'll be viewed as harmless and overlooked. This eventually gives him an opportunity to escape.
* PedophilePriest: Schäfer is the spiritual leader of the cult, and the movie has a few references of him molesting young boys in the colony:
** When Lena arrives in the colony, she is sent to see Schäfer for confession. She sees a young boy in tears leaving Schäfer's office.
** There's a scene with Schäfer directing a choir of young boys singing in the boys' shower room, then (while they are still singing) he joins the boys who are showering (the scene stops when he removes his shoes).
** And then, the ending tells that Schäfer has been sentenced several decades later to a long jail term for sexual abuse on children.
* ThePlace: Translates to "The Colony."
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: [[spoiler:In the ending, Lena and Daniel eventually manage to board an international flight whose pilot is a friend of Lena's. Santiago's airport flight control forbids the plane to take off in order to force the crew to send Lena and Daniel back to the police... The pilot takes off anyway.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After Daniel is put into an ambulance, and [[{{Unperson}} disapeared]], Lena asks his friends what the plan is to get him back. They tell her that because of his German nationality, he was probably taken to ''Colonia Dignidad'', and wish her luck, as they will go into hiding, since the Pinochet regime is now hunting them down.
* ShaggyDogStory: Lena sees Daniel at a men's gathering for Doro. Lena figures that getting in trouble will get Daniel to see her at her gathering. Unfortunately, Daniel attempts to escape the colony that night (though his failure happens just in time to keep the men from further beating Lena) and it only worsens her reputation to the point that she earns Schaefer's attention.
* TheSociopath: Paul Schafer, a cult leader who agrees to become a torturer for a dictator and molests the children of his parishioners.
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''La Colonia'' has several similarities to ''Film/{{Argo}}''. Both are based on true events, both are set in the Seventies, both start during the instauration of a new dictatorship in the country (respectively the Chilean coup d'etat of 1973 and the Iranian revolution of 1979), both are about a plan to free someone from the country, and both end [[spoiler: with a race against the clock in an airport to flee the country on an international flight.]]
* StarCrossedLovers: Doro and Dieter, as the men and women aren't allowed to see each other except at mixed parades, the two having first met (and the ''previous'' time they've seen each other) at a mixed parade three years ago. They also want to get married, which is also forbidden at the colony. [[spoiler:They get found out, leading to Doro getting humiliated and beaten at a men's gathering, with Dieter being forced to insult her and slap her and being ForcedToWatch her get beaten by the other men.]]
* SuperFunHappyThingOfDoom: "Colonia Dignidad" means "Dignity Colony".
* TranslationConvention: Since Lena, Daniel, Schäfer, most of the Colony's members, and Lena's coworkers are German, the dialogue uses English for German. There's occasional lines in Spanish, with subtitles.
* TrailersAlwaysLie: The trailer portrays the movie as a by the numbers period-piece romantic melodrama with the titular colony as a simple backdrop. The movie itself is a dark and realistic tale about the horrors of the colony and the main character's escape, with the romance being an afterthought (if you could call it a "romance", since the main characters [[OfficialCouple are already together by the time the film starts and remain that way to the end.)]]
* YankTheDogsChain: When Lens first starts harvesting, she later asks for water. Gisela, unpleased with Lena's weakness, brings a bucket of water and sets it next to Lena. As Lena is about to drink from it, Gisela tells her off, saying that neither she or the colony have time to accommodate to Lena's every need and that if even a single drop of water is missing from that bucket, she will beat Lena. Lena leaves it be as a part of the backdrop.
----
[[caption-width-right:350:There is no turning back.]]
->''"You think that you made a mistake, you think that you should not have come here?"''
--> -- '''Schäfer to Lena'''
A 2016 film about the torture of political prisoners at Colonia Dignidad, Chile, during [[UsefulNotes/AugustoPinochet Pinochet's dictatorship]].
----
!! ''Colonia Dignidad'' contains examples of:
* ArchEnemy: Lena has Paul Schaefer, the cult leader who's holding her boyfriend captive.
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Played fairly straight with Lena's injuries as opposed to Daniel's.
* BeleagueredBureaucrat: When Lena gets no help from Daniel's friends, she goes to Amnesty International and states that her boyfriend, a German citizen, was arrested by Chilean authorities and taken to ''Colonia Dignidad''. The director tells her that ''Colonia Dignidad'' is a government sanctioned charity organization, and that everything will be fine. He then [[CacophonyCoverUp turns on the radio]] to [[BigBrotherIsWatching mask their voices from the bugs,]] and tells her that there is nothing he, or his organization, can do to get him out, and tells her that once someone goes into ''Colonia Dignidad'', they don't come out.
* BigBad: Paul Schaefer, leader of the Colonia Dignidad.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Lena and Daniel manage to leave the Colony - and then Chile - alive, but the Colony and Pinochet's dictatorship last for many years more. Also, they flee the colony with the nurse Ursel, who gets killed by a trap just after they discover they managed to escape the colony.]]
* BoobyTrap: In the tunnels beneath the Colony [[spoiler: and surrounding its fence. Poor Ursel...]]
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Daniel insisting on photographing the events in Chile gets him in trouble the first time by getting him arrested and almost blows his and Lena's cover later in the camp.
* ColdBloodedTorture: A common experience for prisoners at the Colony.
* CorruptPolitician: After [[spoiler: Lena and Daniel escape the Colony, they drive to the West German Embassy to tell their government and the world of what was going on in Chile. The ambassador assures them that everything will be alright, but he locks them in a room at the airport so that that Schäfer can take them back to the Colony.]]
* TheCoup: The film's plot starts in the wake of Chile's 1973 military coup, when thousands of political opponents were rounded up for torture or execution.
* {{Cult}}: Colonia Dignidad, a frightening sect which segregated its members by sex, forbids them to leave, brutally punishes any violations of its rules, manufactures weapons and collaborates with the Chilean military dictatorship to detain and torture political prisoners.
* DefiniteArticleTitle: Translates to "The Colony", and it's about ThePlace known as "Colonia Dignidad".
* DistressedDude: Daniel, who is illegally arrested and tortured by Chilean soldiers after the coup d'etat.
* ElectricTorture: Schäfer's preferred means of torture.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Schäfer's "comfort" of Daniel after overseeing his torture at the hands of Chilean soldiers.
* FanDisservice: Good-looking people in their underwear? Yay! Good-looking people in their underwear being tortured? Noyay!
* FanService:
** Daniel cooks breakfast in only an apron while Lena takes pictures of him in only a shirt.
** Lena takes off her clothes and swims naked in the river next to the colony.
* ForcedToWatch: Schaefer forces Dieter to watch the colony's men beat up Doro.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Pinochet and his regime, who used Colonia Dignidad as a clandestine prison and torture center, as well as a weapons manufacturing plant.
* HeroicBSOD:
** While exploring the underground tunnels of The Colony for a way out, Daniel bursts into tears as he stumbles into the torture chamber that contains the metal bed he was chained to and the generator used to electrocute him.
** Lena has one after [[spoiler:Ursel is killed right after they escaped the colony.]]
* HopeSpot:
** [[spoiler:Lena and Daniel manage to escape to the outside of the colony's walls with Ursel. Relieved, Ursel thanks them for saving her, then walks forward to lead the way back to freedom... until to be shot dead on the spot by a BoobyTrap.]]
** [[spoiler: After successfully leaving the colony, Lena and Daniel go to the West German embassy in Santiago, asking for help to leave the country. The ambassador offers to drive them to the airport in a diplomatic vehicle, but it turns out to be a trap arranged with the Chilean regime and the Colony, to bring them back to Schäfer.]]
* ItsAllMyFault: Lena blames herself for [[spoiler:the death of Ursel and her unborn baby, feeling that they would have lived if she had not convinced Ursel to escape the colony with her and Daniel.]]
* KarmaHoudini:
** Within the film, neither Schäfer or Pinochet face punishment for their crimes. Schäfer was eventually convicted on molesting children and died in prison. Pinochet, however, died before he could be tried.
** The Epilogue also states that [[spoiler:the West German Embassy]] was complicit with both the Pinochet regime and the Colony, but no one who worked there was prosecuted for any wrong doing.
* LighterAndSofter: It isn't obvious at first given the darkness of the movie, but some of the most disturbing elements of the real Colonia Dignidad (links with Nazism, the presence of Joseph Mengele in the colony, a few kidnappings of children from the local Chilean population) aren't mentioned in the film.
* ObfuscatingDisability: Daniel pretends to be mentally disabled from brain damage due to his torture so he'll be viewed as harmless and overlooked. This eventually gives him an opportunity to escape.
* PedophilePriest: Schäfer is the spiritual leader of the cult, and the movie has a few references of him molesting young boys in the colony:
** When Lena arrives in the colony, she is sent to see Schäfer for confession. She sees a young boy in tears leaving Schäfer's office.
** There's a scene with Schäfer directing a choir of young boys singing in the boys' shower room, then (while they are still singing) he joins the boys who are showering (the scene stops when he removes his shoes).
** And then, the ending tells that Schäfer has been sentenced several decades later to a long jail term for sexual abuse on children.
* ThePlace: Translates to "The Colony."
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: [[spoiler:In the ending, Lena and Daniel eventually manage to board an international flight whose pilot is a friend of Lena's. Santiago's airport flight control forbids the plane to take off in order to force the crew to send Lena and Daniel back to the police... The pilot takes off anyway.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After Daniel is put into an ambulance, and [[{{Unperson}} disapeared]], Lena asks his friends what the plan is to get him back. They tell her that because of his German nationality, he was probably taken to ''Colonia Dignidad'', and wish her luck, as they will go into hiding, since the Pinochet regime is now hunting them down.
* ShaggyDogStory: Lena sees Daniel at a men's gathering for Doro. Lena figures that getting in trouble will get Daniel to see her at her gathering. Unfortunately, Daniel attempts to escape the colony that night (though his failure happens just in time to keep the men from further beating Lena) and it only worsens her reputation to the point that she earns Schaefer's attention.
* TheSociopath: Paul Schafer, a cult leader who agrees to become a torturer for a dictator and molests the children of his parishioners.
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''La Colonia'' has several similarities to ''Film/{{Argo}}''. Both are based on true events, both are set in the Seventies, both start during the instauration of a new dictatorship in the country (respectively the Chilean coup d'etat of 1973 and the Iranian revolution of 1979), both are about a plan to free someone from the country, and both end [[spoiler: with a race against the clock in an airport to flee the country on an international flight.]]
* StarCrossedLovers: Doro and Dieter, as the men and women aren't allowed to see each other except at mixed parades, the two having first met (and the ''previous'' time they've seen each other) at a mixed parade three years ago. They also want to get married, which is also forbidden at the colony. [[spoiler:They get found out, leading to Doro getting humiliated and beaten at a men's gathering, with Dieter being forced to insult her and slap her and being ForcedToWatch her get beaten by the other men.]]
* SuperFunHappyThingOfDoom: "Colonia Dignidad" means "Dignity Colony".
* TranslationConvention: Since Lena, Daniel, Schäfer, most of the Colony's members, and Lena's coworkers are German, the dialogue uses English for German. There's occasional lines in Spanish, with subtitles.
* TrailersAlwaysLie: The trailer portrays the movie as a by the numbers period-piece romantic melodrama with the titular colony as a simple backdrop. The movie itself is a dark and realistic tale about the horrors of the colony and the main character's escape, with the romance being an afterthought (if you could call it a "romance", since the main characters [[OfficialCouple are already together by the time the film starts and remain that way to the end.)]]
* YankTheDogsChain: When Lens first starts harvesting, she later asks for water. Gisela, unpleased with Lena's weakness, brings a bucket of water and sets it next to Lena. As Lena is about to drink from it, Gisela tells her off, saying that neither she or the colony have time to accommodate to Lena's every need and that if even a single drop of water is missing from that bucket, she will beat Lena. Lena leaves it be as a part of the backdrop.
----
