The German friend
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The German friend |
| Original title | El amigo alemán |
| Country of production | Argentina |
| original language | Spanish , German |
| Publishing year | 2012 |
| length | 100 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Jeanine Meerapfel |
| script | Jeanine Meerapfel |
| production | Jeanine Meerapfel, Hans W. Geißendörfer |
| music | Floros Floridis |
| camera | Victor Kino González |
| cut | Andrea Wenzler |
| occupation | |
| |
The German Friend (Spanish original title: El amigo alemán ) is a film by the German - Argentinian director and screenwriter Jeanine Meerapfel from 2012.
action
Sulamit Löwenstein and Friedrich Burg are children of German emigrants who grew up living across from each other in Buenos Aires in the 1950s. The Jewish Sulamits family fled the Holocaust to South America, the Friedrichs family belonged to the Nazis and changed their name when they went into hiding in Argentina. Sulamit and Friedrich become friends and fall in love.
When Friedrich finds out that his father was in the SS and a war criminal , he breaks with the family, goes to Germany and joins the student movement . Sulamit followed him to Frankfurt with a German scholarship , but in Friedrich's political obsession there was no room for a love affair. She then met and fell in love with the lecturer Michael, but continued to follow Friedrich's activities.
To fight the Argentine military dictatorship , Friedrich returns to Argentina and is arrested and interned during an armed operation . Sulamit, who learns of Friedrich's disappearance , flies to Argentina, finds out his whereabouts and visits him in prison - after a support group of political prisoners has given her a false passport. She finds out that she loves Friedrich more than anything and separates from Michael on her return to Germany.
After the change of power in Argentina in 1983, Friedrich was released and went to Patagonia to support the indigenous people there in the fight for their land. Sulamit flies to Argentina again to meet him - whom she still loves.
background
The film, the plot of which extends over several decades, has clearly autobiographical traits of the director Jeanine Meerapfel. Similar to her protagonist Sulamit, she comes from a German-Jewish family who fled to Argentina during the Second World War , grew up in Buenos Aires in the 1950s, studied during the student movement in Germany and later worked here.
Meerapfel has incorporated film material from the period into her film. The language in the film scenes is mainly Spanish or German, depending on the location and the person constellation. It is interesting that language is used as the primary identity feature: Sulamit's mother speaks German with her, and Sulamit answers in Spanish. This effect is not realized in the dubbed German version.
reception
The German film and media rating writes that the film is a “... very personal insight into German and Argentine history , a time of upheaval that is authentically presented thanks to careful research. The film music supports the strong settings sensitively and cautiously. ”She rates the film as particularly valuable .
Awards
- 2012: Five nominations in the categories of Best Film, Best Director, Best Female Leading Role (Celeste Cid), Best Production Design and Best Music for the renowned Argentine film award Cóndor de Plata .
Web links
- The German friend in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Süddeutsche Zeitung : Captured in the Theater of History , article from November 6, 2012; accessed on December 1, 2013.
- ↑ Deutschlandradio Kultur : Brought out of the catastrophe under our own steam . Interview with Jeanine Meerapfel as an online article from October 28, 2012; Retrieved December 2, 2013.
- ^ German film and media evaluation : press text and jury statement for Der deutsche Freund , online publication for the German cinema release on November 1, 2012; Retrieved December 2, 2013.
- ↑ Télam Espectáculos , Cine section : Anunciaron las nominaciones para los premios Cóndor de Plata 2012-2013 , online article from March 13, 2013; Spanish, accessed December 3, 2013.