In depicting the events of World War II and the Holocaust, most films explore stories both heroic and devastating on the battlefield or recount the countless tragedies of the Nazi concentration camps and the persecution of Jewish citizens. Some go a step beyond and explore the direct aftermath, like the recent Russell Crowe-led Nuremberg, focusing on the titular Nuremberg Trials. However, fewer films go back and explore the contentious period in German history right before the outbreak of the war, particularly the horrifying Kristallnacht. On the anniversary of one of the most pivotal and cruel precursors to the Holocaust, Collider can exclusively share a sneak peek at a new historical drama that places Clive Owen and Alex Pettyfer in the middle of the chaos as Jewish businesses are burnt and broken.

The Night of Broken Glass casts the Oscar-nominated Owen in the role of Police Lieutenant Wilhelm Krützfeld, with Pettyfer playing his partner, Kai Lehmann. Assigned to investigate the murder of a Jewish doctor in Berlin in November 1938, the duo find their jobs complicated by the ongoing political turmoil around them. The recent assassination of a German diplomat in Paris has the country in a frenzy, as the Nazi regime exploits the moment for propaganda to further turn the people against their Jewish neighbors. It all culminates in Kristallnacht, a pogrom in which angry mobs stormed Jewish businesses, neighborhoods, and places of worship and brought destruction upon everyone who lived there. As chaos swells, Krützfeld is torn between his sense of right and wrong and his duty, wrestling with his conscience as he tries to find the courage to throw away everything he's worked for and stand by his convictions.