The story of two teen-age brothers living amid the rubble in bombed-out Cologne in last days of World War II. l7-year-old non-conformist Karl secretly belongs to a group of friends known as the Edilweiss Pirates (named after the tough mountaintop flower).Their skirmishes with Hitler Youth at first resemble boyish games and teen-age turf wars. The working-class roughnecks manage to escape the tightening grip of the Gestapo for awhile, daubing anti-war graffitti on walls, helping kids find shelter away from unexploded bombs, finding hiding places for a few remaining Jews. Younger brother Peter, 15, however, still wears his Hitler Youth blazer, more out of convenience than ideology. When a badly wounded prisoner escaping from the Nazis finds shelter, family trust and solidarity is put to the test as Gestapo agents with lists of names threaten reprisals and torture. Maverick director Niki von Glasow, 45, was assistant to the late R.W.Fassbinder and producer for Tom Tykwer (Run, Lola,Run). - A,M