Biikenbrennen - The curse of the sea

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Movie
Original title Biikenbrennen - The curse of the sea
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1999
length 92 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Sebastian Niemann
script Timo Berndt ,
Kevin Wotschke
production Christian Becker ,
Simon Happ ,
Benjamin Herrmann ,
Thomas Haberle ,
Catarina Raacke
music Egon Riedel
camera Gerhard Schirlo
cut Moune Barius
occupation

Biikenbrennen - Der Fluch des Meeres is a German horror film from 1999. The film was directed by Sebastian Niemann and starring Christoph M. Ohrt , Anja Kling and Hans Diehl in the leading roles. The film was first shown on October 29, 1999 on ProSieben .

action

In the opening credits, a night watchman goes around a small museum on the coast. The night watchman's throat is cut by a ghostly stranger on an exhibited hull of an unknown type from the 16th century, which a plaque is said to have sunk in the Elbe estuary around 1590 . The shipwreck on display disappears from its frame without a trace.

Late in 1998 in the fictional town of Ottenkoog on the North Sea coast, three children in pirate disguise with lanterns approach a house, at the door of which they ring to ask for a gift. They sing a song, the text of which reads: “Wavlew is coming across the sea with his men that night. Wavlew brought death. He no longer gives us up. Taken from us alone, the child should be a pledge for all the treasures ... "

The house with a pile of firewood in front of it is the former property of a certain Claas Petersen. It was only recently acquired by the Hamburg software developer, entrepreneur and widower Marc Fölster. He moved from the big city with his daughter Johanna, who was suffering from asthma, to the North Sea coast in the fictional town of Ottenkoog. The salty air is said to provide relief to the girl.

Fölster generously gives the children, who for him embody a kind of star singers , a 50 DM note, which the children receive, concerned and perplexed. They were primarily interested in small gifts, toys, sweets and the like. as the village elder Hans-Heinrich Hansen, who comes into the house after the children, explains. He explains to the skeptical townspeople the essence of the tradition of this small children's procession and asks the Neu-Ottenkooger Fölster on this occasion to be allowed to hold the Biikenbrennen on his property . This has been an unbroken tradition for 410 years and is extremely important to the villagers.

Fölster refuses arrogantly and harshly, pointing out that this is the property he has rightfully acquired and that the risk of his house being endangered by the fire outweighs obscure traditions for him. Hansen insists, but is thrown out of the house by Fölster.

A little later, Hansen made the acquaintance of the attractive oceanographer Dr. Tanja Saves. She is staying in Ottenkoog for research purposes and during her work came across inexplicable anomalies on the sea, the data of which she plans to transmit to her university. During this transfer process the computer and its peripheral devices fail. She therefore asks Fölster to be allowed to use his computer.

The Ottenkoogers gather in the village church and are indignant about Fölster's refusal to approve the biiken distilling. Hansen tries in vain to appease.

On the evening of the same day, Dr. Saves Marc Fölster in order to be able to transfer further data. While they are sitting at the table with Foelster's daughter, a broken branch smashes the kitchen window. Both the fireplace and the table candle suddenly go out. While Fölster looks in front of the house for the broken branch, he sees a shadowy figure on the beach at night. He is knocked down by the creepy stranger. He then penetrates into Fölster's house and kidnaps Johanna.

When Fölster returns to the house, there is an ancient dagger in the tabletop with which a message was scratched into the wood: "All hav to me - De lev to de - De lad top filt". (All have for me - life for you - the chest filled to the top). Fölster attributes the kidnapping to the Ottenkoogers' vengeance for the ban on this year's Biiekenbrennens. He suspects old Hansen to be the mastermind, whom he confronts. In immeasurable arrogance, he insults the Ottenkoogers as backward, “mindless natives”.

Having become skeptical and still pondering the phenomenon of the sudden extinguishing of the candle, Fölster turned to the local museum to find out more about the background of the traditions that Hansen hinted at. He finds in old records in which the place name was still written Ohdenkrog, the story of the pirate Wavlew, who attacked the coastal towns and robbed children there. For their return he made it a condition that his chest be filled to the brim. Although the villagers always stood together and gave all their belongings to the release of one child from their midst, the nefarious pirates often did not stick to the bargain and instead threw the stolen children overboard and let them drown.

The chronicle on display in the museum was owned by Hansen. More than ever convinced that Hansen was behind the plot to kidnap his daughter, Foelster attacks Hansen and almost kills him. Dr. Speicher knocks down the highly aggressive foal with a nail .

Fölster is told to contact von Bütow, who is resident in the village, who is familiar with the local history and whose ancestors have held the office of dikemaster for centuries . Fölster had already noticed its stately home earlier. Together with Dr. He goes to the old von Bütow, who is sitting in a wheelchair. He identifies the knife that Fölster found on his table top as a dagger of the 16th century. Von Bütow explains further background to the Wavlew legend. It comes up that it was only Claas Petersen's fire that prevented the cursed souls of Wavlew and his pirates from setting foot on land and continuing their doings after their death. Only Fölster's refusal paved the way for the dead Wavlew's ghost to land again. Von Bütow explains the extinguishing of the fireplace and the candle with the "coldness of soul" Wavlews, which can extinguish every fire - except that of Claas Petersen. Von Bütow explains Fölster that Wavlew has returned because he was cheated out of the money he had extorted in 1586. The villagers had brought all their possessions to Claas Petersen, whose daughter Maria Luise was the last to be kidnapped by Wavlew. But before Petersen could hand over the chest, it disappeared. Nobody knows anymore where the chest and the treasure inside is. Fölster must mobilize his possessions if he is dear to his daughter. He instructs his bank to transfer his assets to him in gold bars.

Together with Dr. Saves and Hansen drives Foelster out to sea. You meet the ghost ship Wavlews. Fölster hears his daughter's cries for help and runs to the front deck. As he turns around, he sees Wavlew stabbing old Hansen in the cabin behind the steering wheel. The dying Hansen made Fölster promise not to leave him at sea.

In Hansen's house, Fölster discovers a book in which von Bütow is depicted in pictures from different eras. Fölster suspects that it is one and the same person over the centuries, especially since the birth of Bütows is recorded in the church register, but not his death. Fölster notices that von Bütow is in all of the pictures. It dawns on Fölster that it must have been von Bütow who, after moving to Ohdenkrog, stole the chest that was filled for Petersen and financed his large property from its contents. Fölster seeks von Bütow and confronts him. In doing so, he pulls von Bütow out of his wheelchair. As soon as von Bütow touches the floor with his feet, it begins to liquefy under von Bütow. In the course of a dispute, von Bütow shoots Fölster and is pushed out of the wheelchair by him. Von Bütow immediately sinks into the liquefied floor, which immediately solidifies again behind him. The former pirate appears on the surface of the North Sea immediately in front of the bow of his captain Wavlew's pirate ship. He tries to flee by swimming, but is overtaken by the undead pirate.

In an effort to assist Fölster, Dr. Stores the villagers in the church together. While Fölster stands helplessly in front of the chest found in von Bütow's cellar and hysterically states that he is not even able to cover the bottom of the chest, the villagers come to him and bring him their belongings. Together they manage to fill the chest to the brim. Fölster is deeply ashamed to see the solidarity of the Ottenkoogers, whom he had defamed as degenerate and incestuous just a few days earlier .

Fölster takes a cutter out into the night harbor and hands over the chest to the sea, which steers by itself towards the ghost ship lying next to him. When this threatens to move away without Johanna being released, Fölster decides to ram the ghost ship and set it on fire, since, as he knows, Wavlew fears the fire. Since he is unable to light a fire because of the presence of the ghost, Dr. From shore, save the diesel-soaked cutter on fire with a signal pistol . Johanna, who is being held captive in a cage attached to the mast of the pirate ship, sinks into the sea with the burning ship. At the last moment, Fölster succeeds in opening the cage underwater and freeing his daughter. He is attacked by the glowing ghost of Wavlew. Fölster succeeds in repelling the ghost with a stab in the back. The ghost seems to dissolve and sink into the waters.

Back home, Foelster puts his daughter to bed. When he enters his room, the ghost of the dead Hansen appears to him, who asks him again whether the biiken burning may take place. This time the refined Fölster agrees.

In the final scene you can see the pirate ship in the museum again. After the night watchman passes it with his flashlight, a narrow trickle of water runs down the oar.

Others

The church book radiates little authenticity: the entries from the end of the 16th century are in High German and written in Latin script. Written documents from this time and in this geographical area were generally written in Low German and in German. It also seems unusual that many of the people recorded in the church register are only listed by their first name and family name. Usually all of the person's first names were found in this official documentation.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Biikenbrennen - The curse of the sea. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed January 6, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used