Bonhoeffer - The last stage
Bonhoeffer - The Last Stage is a US-American-German-Canadian co-production by Eric Till from the year 2000. The dramatic film tells the life story of the Lutheran theologian and resistance fighter Dietrich Bonhoeffer .
action
Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer is safe. He is in the USA , enjoying the freedom and peace there, which is threatened in Germany by the National Socialists . Nevertheless he returns home, back to Germany. There he denounced submission to Hitler in an evening sermon . He also accuses Reich Bishop Ludwig Müller of rewriting the Bible, and Bonhoeffer states: "Only those who shout for the Jews have the right to sing in Gregorian ". The Gestapo becomes aware of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He now has to report to the Gestapo once a week, is subject to a professional ban and is no longer allowed to preach . Soon afterwards he advised his twin sister Sabine to flee Germany with her Jewish husband , as the danger posed by the National Socialists was meanwhile too high. She sadly follows his advice. In a time of increasing reprisals, a time in which hardly anyone can be trusted, Bonhoeffer meets Ruth von Kleist-Retzow's granddaughter, the young Maria von Wedemeyer , who was in confirmation class with him . At the same time, Bonhoeffer learns from Ruth that Germany has recently been at war with Poland . The radio just reported this.
Bonhoeffer is recruited by his brother-in-law Hans von Dohnanyi as a courier for the German defense , in which the resistance against Hitler is seething. This certifies that he is not allowed to be drafted as a warrior. He is one of the initiates of the assassination attempt by Rudolf-Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff on Adolf Hitler. But the said assassination attempt on March 21, 1943 fails. The Gestapo became aware of the resistance. Bonhoeffer therefore ends up in Gestapo detention and is repeatedly interrogated there. In prison he is occasionally visited by Maria von Wedemeyer, to whom he became engaged in January 1943. Together they hope to be released. But hope is not fulfilled.
After the assassination attempt against Hitler on July 20, 1944 , many of the opponents of the regime were tried and killed. The Bonhoeffer case is also again being targeted by the Gestapo. Bonhoeffer, who is still in prison, is then taken to the Flossenbürg concentration camp on April 9, 1945 and murdered.
background
The film was produced by NFP Teleart (Berlin), Norflicks Productions Ltd. as well as the Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg . Central Film (Germany) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (USA) took care of the distribution .
The film was shot in Germany , the Czech Republic and Canada .
The film premiered in the United States on June 14, 2000 . The film had its German premiere on August 24, 2000. The premiere followed in Canada on September 10, 2000. In addition to the German and English versions of the film, there is also a Greek version.
At the Monte-Carlo TV Festival in 2000 the film won the award for best television film . The film also won an award at the Munich Film Festival in 2000 with its director Eric Till . The actor Robert Joy was also nominated for the 2001 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role.
criticism
“'Do you know my granddaughter Maria?' Aha, Bonhoeffer's bride-to-be, first meeting in a difficult hour. Given the scarcity of such scenes, a TV format would have been much better advised. Significantly, Bonhoeffer, who has shrunk to German inwardness, only comes into its own in the cell. It speaks for the film that you spend the time here for one of his poems. ,Who am I?' he wonders. 'Am I both at the same time? A hypocrite in front of people - and a wretched weakling in front of myself? '"
media
- DVD : Bonhoeffer - The last stage ; Gütersloher publishing house
- DVD : Bonhoeffer - Agent of Grace
- VHS : Bonhoeffer - Agent of Grace
Web links
- Bonhoeffer - The final stage in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Bonhoeffer - The last step at filmportal.de
- NFP new film production: Bonhoeffer - The Last Stage
References and comments
- ^ The Internet Movie Database - Companies involved for Bonhoeffer - The last stage
- ^ The Internet Movie Database - Filming locations for Bonhoeffer - The last stage
- ^ The Internet Movie Database - Start Dates for Bonhoeffer - The Final Stage
- ^ The Internet Movie Database - Awards for Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace
- ↑ Philipp Bühler: Martyrs with weaknesses ; Berliner Zeitung of August 24, 2000; Accessed February 2, 2012