Friendly Enemies

In the shadow of the Great War, the Pfeiffer and Block households serve as a microcosm for a divided America. Carl Pfeiffer and Henry Block, two German immigrants who have built successful lives in the United States, find their decades-long friendship pushed to the breaking point by conflicting loyalties. While Henry is a vocal patriot for his adopted home, Carl remains emotionally tethered to the Fatherland, a sentimentality that blinds him to the darker machinations of the conflict. The tension escalates from domestic bickering to national tragedy when Carl’s son, William, enlists in the U.S. Army. Carl, manipulated by the predatory German agent Miller, unwittingly finances an act of sabotage that targets the very ship carrying his son to the front lines. What follows is a harrowing journey of realization, as Carl must confront the consequences of his misguided allegiance and work with his old rival—and the Secret Service—to bring a saboteur to justice. The film culminates in a desperate race to rectify a father’s mistake, ultimately forging a new, singular identity for the Pfeiffer family.