The time frame of the film is 1506-1522: the beginning of Luther's monastic vocation to his return from exile at the Wartburg in 1522.
A medieval dramatic troupe's performances of mystery plays provide the unifying motif for a parallel telling of the story of the film.
When Luther's carriage en route from the Wartburg to Wittenberg it is shown passing an actor wearing a devil's mask.
could interpret the portrayal of Martin Luther returning to Wittenberg, which occurred in early 1522, as his approving of the radical changes instigated by Andreas Karlstadt the year before.
The movie makes the out-break of the radical changes the instigation of his return thus implying, probably rightly, the need he felt to moderate them.