The model student (1998)

Movie
German title	The model student
Original title	Apt pupil
Country of production	USA , France
original language	English
Publishing year	1998
length	107 minutes
Age rating	FSK 16
Rod
Director	Bryan Singer
script	Brandon Boyce
production	Jane Hamsher ; Don Murphy; Bryan Singer
music	John Ottman
camera	Newton Thomas Sigel
cut	John Ottman
occupation
	Ian McKellen : Kurt Dussander / Arthur Denker; Brad Renfro : Todd Bowden; Bruce Davison : Richard Bowden; David Schwimmer : Edward French; Joshua Jackson : Joey; Heather McComb : Becky Trask; Elias Koteas : Archie; James Karen : Victor Bowden; Jan Tříska : Isaac Weiskopf;

The model student (original title: Apt Pupil ) is a thriller by the director Bryan Singer from 1998. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King , which is about the pathological friendship between a teenager and a fugitive Nazi war criminal .

action

In Los Angeles , Todd, a teenager with in-depth knowledge of German history, exposes an ex- SS man and concentration camp supervisor who leads a secluded life as a supposedly Ukrainian immigrant. He threatens to extradite Kurt Dussander, who now lives under the name Arthur Denker , to the police unless he describes in detail his cruel deeds in the concentration camps . With these stories Todd wants to satisfy his own subliminal power and violence fantasies. However, he suffers from it nightmares and visions in which he sees himself as a victim in a gas chamber . At the same time he finds a taste for the fascist behavior of power. So he gets an SS uniform and forces the old man to drill in front of him in this uniform.

Over time, a kind of complicated relationship of mutual power and shame develops between Todd and Denker. First, Todd forces Denker to tell the story by threatening to report him to the police. Later on, Todd tries at times to undo his mistake, but Denker explains to him that there is no going back now. Denker claims that he himself created an incriminating dossier on Todd, because anyone who covers a National Socialist criminal is just as much in public contempt as the criminal himself.

In addition, Denker suggests to the younger Todd that he does not yet meet the requirements for an SS man. This includes the desire to kill people, which is the absolute representation of power. In this way, Denker motivates the teenager to slay a homeless man. Before that, both Denker and Todd found secret enjoyment in animal cruelty .

The changeable relationship ends when Denker is admitted to the hospital with a heart attack, where his bed neighbor, a concentration camp survivor, recognizes his face. Thinker then commits suicide . In the following media hype, the FBI is also investigating Todd, but no offense can be proven. From then on he is considered innocent and leads with his dark secret - like Dussander before - a civil existence.

Deviation from the amendment

The film differs significantly from the novella, especially at the end. While the boy is unmasked in King at the end, in the film he gets away and despite the crimes and moral depravity he has committed, he can maintain the appearance of the good student who embodies all American values.

Reviews

“It is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Stephen King, which lags far behind the radicalism and explosive power of the original, mainly because it belittles the ruthlessly murderous model student to a mere nasty character. Only the excellent acting performances of the two main actors remain in memory. "

- Lexicon of international film

“Thanks in particular to the strong performance of Ian McKellen as an old Nazi henchman, director Bryan Singer has again succeeded in creating a fascinating work after The Usual Suspects . He relies less - as one might suspect in a Stephen King film adaptation - on horror elements than on an exact character drawing. The whole thing is staged in an extremely unconventional way, but some tasteless scenes should make one or the other feel uncomfortable. "

- prism-online

Awards

The film won two Saturn Awards in 1999 in the categories of Best Horror Film and Best Supporting Actor . The film was nominated in three other categories.

Book publication

Summer thunderstorm. The model student. In: Stephen King: Seasons. Spring Summer. Bastei-Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1987, ISBN 3-404-13115-0 , pp. 125-351. (First edition of the German licensed edition; Translator: Harro Christensen)

Web links

Pupil in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Pupil atRotten Tomatoes(English)

Individual evidence

↑ The model student. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
↑ The model student . prisma TV Guide. Retrieved March 6, 2009.

[1] The model student. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .

[2] The model student . prisma TV Guide. Retrieved March 6, 2009.


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