The King and His Fool (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The king and his fool |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1981 |
| length | 108 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Frank Beyer |
| script | Frank Beyer Ulrich Plenzdorf |
| production | Hans Kwiet |
| music | Günther Fischer |
| camera | Günter Marczinkowsky |
| cut | Eva-Maria Rintel |
| occupation | |
| |
The king and his jester is a German television - drama from the year 1981 . The historical film is a literary adaptation of the novel of the same name by Martin Stade .
action
With the coronation of Friedrich Wilhelm I , several academics left the country. From now on the new king only wants to be called a colonel and has a certain aversion to artists and scholars. So he closes the Brandenburg Knight Academy and the Herald's Office. With this, Jacob Paul von Gundling not only loses his job, but also his home, after all, his apartments are to give way to the first Brandenburg cloth manufacture. But his homelessness did not last long, after all the king asked him to come to him. He heard that a heretical letter caused an uproar in Magdeburg's Sankt-Katharinen-Kirche . Because of his atheistic views, he finally invited Gundling to his tobacco college , where he was free to speak about anything. He is served alcohol, so that he grumbles about the conditions in Magdeburg with a loose tongue and confesses to having written the pamphlet. Later that night, he is brought to his room drunk and played a prank on a ghost to test his atheist beliefs.
The king promotes Gundling to the council of commerce and lets him travel through his empire to hear from him how things are going with the country and the people. The king can hardly cope with the bad news, for example about the plaintive craft that the journeymen are running out of, since seven new regiments need supplies of men. The king also accepts some advice. Henceforth, in order to prevent corruption, brewing justice is passed on to the majesty. A short time later, Gundling was promoted to the royal newspaper reader and further humiliated. After a fight with a short court jester, he fakes his death and fled to his brother Nikolaus Hieronymus Gundling . However, he returns voluntarily and thus escapes conviction for desertion . Rather, he is promoted to court counselor and is supposed to assess the deserter problem. Gundling grants the deserters the right to flee, after all the pressure is too great and any form of evasion is a kind of self-defense. The king reacts angrily and takes Gundling with him on the hunt, enduring several blows and kicks. Finally he fled a second time, this time to Catholic Wroclaw , where he could easily get a job if he only converted . Gundling refuses and prefers to spend his time with scholars and students in restaurants to sing against the authorities. After he was arrested for singing obnoxious songs, he was brought back to Prussia, where he was promoted to chief master of ceremonies .
As this he is at the mercy of talking about his bachelorhood in fine court company. In addition to his shyness, he cites his lack of financial resources as reasons. But that is no reason for the king to give him the Huguenot Anne de Larrey, an old maid to marry, as well as a loan and the Krautsche Palais. In the run-down house they get closer and have a close marriage. But the humiliations don't stop at court. When the French ambassador Conrad-Alexandre Comte De Rottembourg stayed at the Tobacco College, he felt snubbed by Gundling's views of Voltaire's inflammatory writings against the authorities. The king resolves the situation by letting Gundling thank him for his majesty's fart that he was allowed to enjoy.
Since Gundling has to struggle with his stomach in addition to alcohol problems, the king and David Faßmann are already looking for a successor. He lets him compete against Gundling in a discussion, with Fassmann praising the king in the highest tones and Gundling continuing to express critical thoughts. When the king finally asks both of them what they think of the court jester's position, the speech duel quickly turns into a fight that Gundling can win. But he can only drown this supposed victory in alcohol. As a shame, he should from now on sleep next to a wine barrel that is placed next to his bed. Despite his bad stomach, he should be served wine whenever he so wishes. When Gundling finally dies, he is buried in this wine barrel. Faßmann gives the funeral sermon.
background
The film was first broadcast on September 9, 1981 on ARD .
According to the director Beyer, who made his debut as a western director with the television film, "the position of the intellectual close to power" should be reflected.
Web links
- The king and his jester in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The king and his fool at filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b This week on television , Der Spiegel , 37/1981, page 255.