It was chosen as West Germany's official submission to the 43rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, but did not receive a nomination.

[3] A four-man US fireteam on patrol seizes a passing young Vietnamese girl and continues to torture and kill her.

The events take place in a Bavarian forest and depict the 1966 Incident on Hill 192 during the Vietnam War.

The soldiers wear US uniforms and have authentic names, but speak with a pronounced Bavarian accent—a conscious directing decision known as the Brechtian distancing effect.

[5] One jury member, Dušan Makavejev, protested against this measure, stood up for the film and supported Verhoeven and producer Rob Houwer.