Five volumes. 31 hours. One collapsing multiverse.
"The Straw That Broke" is a surrealist, micro-budget meta-fiction feature blending retro-futuristic aesthetics with philosophy to explore the boundaries between reality and the digital realm. "The virtual is viral," announces Clea Bardan, editor at DeBase SF, to Claudia Weiss, her overworked author of futuristic pulp fiction. Clea demands an impossible task: write five volumes within 31 hours. Claudia's journey spans from Stuttgart to Nueva York, a Harkonnen spaceship, and a water-based planet holding the secret to saving the multiverse from the O-Cloud—a virus destroying sentient life at its ontological core. But how much of this reality is authentic, and can a talking mouse from Claudia's own stories save the multiverse? Using diverse cinematic devices, the film tackles deep metaphysical questions while remaining a poignant story about loss, love, and hope for us all.
The Straw That Broke (2021) is a science fiction film directed by Valentin Hennig, released on October 26, 2021 with a runtime of 1h 10m. It stars Robert Besta, Manuel Harder, Santiago Ziesmer and Claudia Gallatz. Viewers rate it 10.0 out of 10 across 1 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for The Straw That Broke before you stream it.
Robert Besta
as Roithammer
Manuel Harder
as Markus
Santiago Ziesmer
as Encyclopedia Mouse
Claudia Gallatz
as Claudia Weiss
Manja Kuhl
as Clea Bardan
Konrad Lucas
as Flint McCrae
Gabrielle Zimmermann
as Dr. Zimmermann
Directed by Valentin Hennig, written by Tom Whalen, produced by Valentin Hennig and Tom Whalen.
Average viewer score of 10.0/10 from 1 ratings.
Review by the German Federal Film and Media Assessment Board (FBW) Rating: Certified "Highly Commended" (Prädikat Wertvoll) Starting from a frigidly futuristic business setting, an appropriately detached editor gives the chronically underpaid author Claudia the assignment to write five volumes of her sci-fi pulp novels within 36 hours, despite having only three data ports at her disposal. Thus begins a trip that…
Reviewed on July 12, 2026
Though completed in 2021, *The Straw That Broke* seems very contemporary, maybe even more than it did a few years ago, due to the sudden acceleration of the dangerous dynamics we see at play. The plot is somewhat encrypted, so at times I felt a bit lost, but so is the film’s main character Claudia, a creator of pulp SF virts, video novels in the film’s alternate future. What I liked about the film is the balance…
Reviewed on August 10, 2026
The planet in the movie *The Straw That Broke* is the kind of “other” world you might find in works by Stanislaw Lem or Philip K. Dick. But the screenplay was written by modernist American writer Tom Whalen and the film directed by German visual artist and filmmaker Valentin Hennig. STRAW, as this film is affectionately known, had a limited released in 2021. Its appearance on YouTube will be a milestone, allowing…
Reviewed on August 10, 2026
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The main cast of The Straw That Broke (2021) includes Robert Besta, Manuel Harder, Santiago Ziesmer, Claudia Gallatz and Manja Kuhl. The film was directed by Valentin Hennig. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
The Straw That Broke was released on October 26, 2021 and runs for 1h 10m.
The Straw That Broke (2021) holds an average rating of 10.0 out of 10 from 1 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy science fiction films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official The Straw That Broke trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
