The minister

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
Original title The minister
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 2013
length 93 minutes
Age rating FSK 0
Rod
Director Uwe Janson
script Dorothee Schön
production Nico Hofmann
Benjamin Benedict
Jürgen Schuster
music Marcel Barsotti
camera Marcus Stotz
cut Boris Gromatzki
occupation

The Minister is a German television film from 2013 that was produced by teamWorx for Sat.1 . The satire is heavily based on the rise and fall of the former Minister of Economic Affairs and Defense, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, in connection with his plagiarism affair .

action

Franz Ferdinand von und zu Donnersberg is a charismatic, well-behaved and good-looking young man from a very rich family who sees his future in politics. His sandpit friend Max Drexel is very clever, ambitious, quick-witted, but of simple origin and does not like to be in the foreground. Together they are an unbeatable team, since Max runs his office and writes the boisterous and grandiose speeches for which Franz Ferdinand receives so much applause and recognition. But Chancellor Angela Murkel eyed the young MP with great skepticism. Franz Ferdinand realizes that he could improve his reputation with the Chancellor with a doctorate. So he asks his friend Max to write his doctoral thesis. He agrees, but time is of the essence and since he is already inextricably overloaded with all the other tasks that his friend loads him without consideration, he somehow tricks and slaps the work after a word of power from his annoyed wife and copies content, which should actually serve as sources, literally without changing them linguistically or marking them as quotations, on the firm assumption that, given Franz Ferdinand's popularity, nobody will check everything very carefully. He was right, a short time later Franz Ferdinand received his doctorate and was entrusted with the Ministry of Economic Affairs. His first business trip takes him to New York , where he is supposed to save the Forpel car company. Thanks to the editor-in-chief of Blitz-Kurier, Jan Breitmann, his rescue is staged in a media-effective manner. Franz Ferdinand and his wife Viktoria quickly became mega-stars in politics.

Max, on the other hand, experiences his personal low point at the same time: his wife Lisa leaves him with their children because he has neglected his marriage and family because of Franz Ferdinand. But when suddenly his friend Franz Ferdinand turns away from him and Max is left without a job, he makes a far-reaching decision. Disappointed with the behavior of his kindergarten friend, who was only able to get this far thanks to his help, he sticks to the fact that the doctoral thesis is plagiarism. This is followed by the spectacular fall of Franz Ferdinand von und zu Donnersberg.

production

Idea and script

At the beginning of October 2011 the managing director of teamWorx , Nico Hofmann , announced that he wanted to film the story of the former defense minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg in a "satire and with a lot of humor". Two days later, the official announcement, published jointly with the broadcaster Sat.1 , followed under the working title “Big Brother”. Story details were first released at the start of filming in September 2012. Readers of the satire “Ich war Guttenbergs Ghost”, published in February 2012, as well as the publishing house Kiepenheuer & Witsch pointed to “striking similarities” between the ghostwriters described in the book and in the film, but the production company placed value on the interim writers in a statement A statement signed by the publisher that the film was made “independently of the book”.

Numerous original quotes from Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg are integrated into the fictional film plot. In addition, the author of the script, Dorothee Schön , presumably based on the model of the minister's famous doctoral thesis, is said to have adopted formulations from other authors herself, without having asked them or indicated the adoptions. There was talk of “plagiarism of plagiarism”. After the film trailer was published, the editors of the satire magazine Titanic pointed to several literal passages from their article Wüstentreff mit Guttensteph by Oliver Maria Schmitt . Dorothee Schön emphasized in interviews that she was inspired by jokes about Guttenberg and that she sees her script as a "media collage" alongside Titanic. I also used statements from the Bildzeitung . The case was never justiciable, but temporarily sparked considerable media interest.

occupation

The main actor wanted to be Jan Josef Liefers as defense minister, Anja Kling as his wife and Henning Baum as ghostwriter. Also, Annette Frier and Hans-Werner Meyer should take on roles in the film. A short time later, Liefers announced that he did not yet know the story and that his decision to participate would depend on the script that was not yet available.

The Bild am Sonntag told Hofmann from teamWorx that Jan Josef Liefers is too old with his 47 years and that instead they are looking for a leading actor between 25 and 35 years of age to rejuvenate the cast. At the same time, the producer announced that Katharina Thalbach would take on the role of Chancellor, as she " looks very much like Angela Merkel ". In the months that followed, a suitable cast was searched for. In mid-June 2012, Alexandra Neldel was cast for the role of wife. On July 6, 2012, producer Nico Hofmann confirmed that Kai Schumann would play the role of Minister of Defense. Hofmann explained his choice of actors to Bild as follows: “We cast almost 20 actors for the role. But when Kai Schumann approached the camera, I knew: it is him. He was brilliant! ”In September 2012 it was also announced that the Defense Minister would be Franz Ferdinand von Donnersberg .

Actress role Real person
Kai Schumann Franz Ferdinand Freiherr von und zu Donnersberg Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg
Johann von Bülow Max Drexel Fictitious
Alexandra Neldel Viktoria from and to Donnersberg Stephanie zu Guttenberg
Katharina Thalbach Angela Murkel Angela Merkel
Walter Sittler Rochus from and to Donnersberg Enoch zu Guttenberg
Thomas Heinze Jan Breitmann Kai Diekmann
Stefanie Stappenbeck Lisa Drexel Fictitious
Susan Sideropoulos Karin Breitmann Katja Kessler
Klaus-Peter Grap Foreign Minister Wellerweste Guido Westerwelle
Christoph Hofrichter Finance Minister Schäuffele Wolfgang Schäuble
Peter Prager Husband of Angela Murkel Joachim Sauer
Heike Warmuth Mandy Fictitious
Pure beauty PhD supervisor Peter Häberle
Michael Schönborn Teacher Kreschel
Matthias Koeberlin Kernmann Johannes B. Kerner
Petra Berndt Mother Drexel Fictitious
Klaus Schindler General Inspector
René Schoenenberger State Secretary
Maximilian Ehrenreich Franz Josef junior

Filming

The six-week filming took place in September and October 2012. The film was shot in Berlin and in Tettnang on Lake Constance. Part of the shooting also took place in the Babelsberg studio in Potsdam ; so were u. a. the interior shots in the airplane, as well as scenes in the German Bundestag or when getting out of the government airplane in Afghanistan in the studios of the studio.

publication

The film was broadcast on Sat.1 on March 12, 2013 . The day after it was broadcast on television, the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Pandastorm Pictures.

reception

Awards

“The Minister” was nominated for the German Television Award in the “Best TV Film 2013” ​​category.

Of the German Academy of Television got Katharina Thalbach the award for "Best Supporting Actress" awarded. Jochen Ketschau was nominated for “Best Editing”.

“The Minister” was nominated for the 2014 Grimme Prize in the “Fiction” category.

criticism

“The idea with the 'ghostwriter' is fiction, the rest is reality, and it was basically so satirical that Schön only had to sharpen it a bit. More entertaining than the many punch lines and the various amusing details (Seehofer's model railway!) Are only the malicious things on the edge, often at the expense of Donnersberg's wife Viktoria (Alexandra Neldel). But with all due respect for Kai Schumann's formidable performance and the body tension with which he gives 'Donni': the secret star of the film is Katharina Thalbach as Angela Murkel. She has by far the best dialogues, equips the Chancellor with lovable quirks and provides several amazing and extremely enjoyable insights into the private life of the most powerful woman in the world, especially since Janson shares these moments on excursions to the local Uckermark to see her husband (Peter Prager) casually staged. "

- Kino.de

"" The Minister "gives an extremely amusing picture of a coherent comedy which, in the broadest sense, is based on the real events surrounding the Guttenberg affair. The makers kept an unexpectedly large distance, which is why the production is still a political satire, but the focus is on comedy and less on the political background. That doesn't detract from the fun and the loving attention to detail, but just fulfills other expectations than the audience might have hoped for. The cast is a gift, the technical implementation is inconspicuous and flawless and "Der Minister" is perhaps the most headstrong and therefore best Sat.1 comedy in a long time. "

- Antje Wessels : quotemeter.de

“No, the satire doesn't come close to Schtonk , some of it is pure slapstick, occasionally the film crosses the boundaries of bad taste. Precisely because humor is always a serious matter, a certain merit of the film lies in the proof that satire can be amusing, even if it is not at the above level of the early Helmut Dietl , which, as is well known, he no longer achieved himself. "

- Nico Fried : Süddeutsche.de

"Better than 'Schtonk' - Long didn't laugh like that: Sat.1 has succeeded in creating a great satire on media-driven politics with the film 'Der Minister' about the plagiarism affair of Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg."

- Klaudia Wick : Frankfurter Rundschau

“How I would have loved to tear this film up. I would have written sentences like 'When I left the show, I felt an urgent need to wash my eyes with hydrochloric acid.' Nothing will come of it. Because contrary to expectations, the 'Minister', the Guttenberg satire from SAT1, turned out very well. Not in the sense that 'Schtonk!' good is. Rather: 'The Minister' does justice to his subject. No sharp-tongued analysis, no witty comment, no opinionated leading article has achieved what this film manages with playful ease: to reduce the Guttenberg phenomenon to its tabloid quintessence. "

- Christophe Braun : Cicero

Audience ratings

The premiere on March 12, 2013 saw 4.44 million people, giving an average market share of 14%. In the advertising-relevant target group of 14 to 49 year olds, the film achieved a market share of 18.2%.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "The Guttenberg, we're doing it now" . In: Bild.de. October 9, 2011, accessed March 15, 2013.
  2. ↑ a b c SAT.1 and teamWorx film Guttenberg's satire "The Big Brother" . Press release. October 11, 2011, accessed via the news aktuell press portal on March 15, 2013.
  3. ↑ a b c d Start of shooting for "Der Minister" (AT) . Press release. September 4, 2011, accessed via the news aktuell press portal on March 15, 2013.
  4. ↑ Heda, Sat1! In: Titanic. March 12, 2013, accessed March 13, 2013.
  5. ↑ Oliver Maria Schmitt accuses Guttenberg parody of plagiarism. In: Journal Frankfurt. March 13, 2013, accessed March 13, 2013.
  6. ↑ Michael Hanfeld : The plagiarism of plagiarism of plagiarism . In: FAZ. March 13, 2013, accessed March 13, 2013.
  7. ↑ Humor criticism: Guttensteph and Guttenplag. In: Titanic. April 2013, accessed August 20, 2013.
  8. ↑ Playing Guttenberg? - Liefers is surprised , In: Bild.de. October 11, 2011, accessed March 15, 2013.
  9. ^ Liefers: Participation in Guttenberg satire depending on the script . In: Digitalfernsehen.de. October 13, 2011, accessed March 15, 2013.
  10. ↑ The Bildzeitung speaks of a rejuvenation of the script, according to Michael Hanfeld: Warning against doctoral titles . In: FAZ, October 11, 2011 , a young actor was originally intended for the main role.
  11. ↑ Guttenberg-Film: Thalbach should play Merkel - delivery out . In: Bild.de. April 29, 2012, accessed March 15, 2013.
  12. ↑ Alexandra Neldel plays Stephanie zu Guttenberg , In: Bild.de. June 10, 2012, accessed March 15, 2013.
  13. ↑ a b TV doctor plays Guttenberg . In: Bild.de. July 6, 2012, accessed March 15, 2013.
  14. ↑ Div. According to media reports, the film character, Philipp von Brandenstein , childhood friend and former office manager and speech writer Guttenberg served as a template
  15. ↑ The Minister (2012-2013). crew united , accessed March 12, 2013 .
  16. ↑ Jens Lindenmüller: Guttenberg satire: Tettnang becomes Donnersberg for television. In: Schwäbische Zeitung . September 28, 2012, accessed March 12, 2013 .
  17. ↑ Sat.1-Online-Redaktion, Making Of-Video: Behind the scenes: Stars, directors and producers on their political satire “The Minister”. Sat.1 , March 12, 2013, accessed on March 13, 2013 .
  18. ↑ Sidney Schering: Sat.1 has broadcast date for Guttenberg satire. Quotemeter.de , January 31, 2013, accessed on March 12, 2013 .
  19. ↑ The Minister - DVD. Pandastorm Pictures, archived from the original on March 2, 2013 ; accessed on March 30, 2013 .
  20. ↑ Nominees 2013. German Television Award , accessed on September 26, 2013 .
  21. ^ German Academy for Television. German Academy for Television, accessed on September 26, 2013 .
  22. ^ Competition Fiktion / Spezial 2014. Adolf Grimme Prize , accessed on February 25, 2014 .
  23. ↑ The Minister. Kino.de , accessed on February 12, 2013 .
  24. ↑ Antje Wessels: The Critics: «The Minister». Quotemeter.de , March 12, 2013, accessed on March 12, 2013 .
  25. ↑ Nico Fried: Almost without cramp. Süddeutsche.de , March 5, 2013, accessed September 26, 2013 .
  26. ↑ Klaudia Wick: Better than "Schtonk". In: Frankfurter Rundschau . March 12, 2013, accessed September 26, 2013 .
  27. ↑ Christophe Braun: Guttenberg is dissected. In: Cicero . March 9, 2013, accessed September 26, 2013 . []
  28. ↑ Uwe Mantel: to Guttenberg pulls: Sat.1 can still event: “The Minister” wins the day. DWDL.de , March 12, 2013, accessed on March 12, 2013 .

Web links