From Garrett Chaffin-Quiray, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die: "An allegory about infantilism, Volker Schlondorff's The Tin Drum is told through thr point of view of Oskar Metzerath (David Bennet), a German boy on the sideline of history. Omniscient before birth, his life becomes the frame for judging adult behavior, especially with regard to troublesome, obsessive sexuality. When he receives a tin drum for his third birthday, Oskar refuses to grow and bigger as he grows older. Afterward observing the rise of Nazism, he bangs his drum and exhibits a scream to break glass whenever he feels libidinously challenged or disappointed. Gradually, however, Oskar's size reduces him to little more than a freak show, simultaneously suggesting the absence of a moral conscience among people who supported the Third Reich. "Throughout its length one picture shocks and confuses. A midget circus act transforms into the headline of Parisian nightlife. Eels pill from a severed horse's head. A N...