The human stain (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The human flaw |
| Original title | The human stain |
| Country of production | USA , Germany , France |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2003 |
| length | 103 minutes |
| Age rating |
FSK 12 JMK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Robert Benton |
| script | Nicholas Meyer |
| production |
Gary Lucchesi , Tom Rosenberg , Scott Steindorff |
| music | Rachel Portman |
| camera | Jean-Yves Escoffier |
| cut | Christopher Tellefsen |
| occupation | |
| |
The human stain (English The Human Stain , French La Couleur du mensonge ) is a drama from 2003 . The plot is based on the novel The Human Stain by Philip Roth .
action
Coleman Silk is a professor of literature and believed to be the first dean of Jewish descent at Athena College in a Massachusetts city . In fact, Silk is an African American with fair skin - a fact he has been hiding since he was a student in order to avoid discrimination . During his lecture, Silk referred to two students who were never present as “dark figures” (in the original: spooks ), referring to ghosts . When the two never-before-seen students turn out to be African-American and file a lawsuit because the word spook is also a derogatory term for black people, he is accused of racism . He quits the job indignantly. His wife Iris dies a short time later as a result of the commotion.
Silk befriends the reclusive writer Nathan Zuckerman, whom he first expects to write an investigative book about his case. In Silk's account, the college administration is responsible for the death of his wife. However, Zuckerman refuses and says that Silk should write the book himself, which he later tries unsuccessfully.
Silk tells Zuckerman about his life. Some flashbacks show the life of the young Coleman Silk in the 1940s, who meets the beautiful Steena Palson in the university library . A love affair develops between them, but it ends when Steena Palson meets Silk's mother and realizes that she cannot be with a man of African American descent. Silk later meets Iris and marries her. Because he fears that she will leave him because of his parentage, he claims that his parents are dead. His family then breaks off contact with him.
In the cinematic present, Silk has a pronounced sexually oriented relationship with the much younger Faunia Farley. Faunia was sexually abused as a child by her stepfather , which is why she ran away at the age of 14 and got by as a tramp . She later married and her children died in a fire. She then attempted suicide . Faunia has several jobs, including cleaning the college where Silk was a professor. On some occasions - like in an exclusive restaurant - she accuses her lover of being ashamed of her as a cleaning lady. She also tells him not to view his retirement as a professor emeritus as a difficult fate ; her life with the abuse in childhood, the deceased children, with the failed marriage, with several jobs is more difficult. Fauna Farley is frequently harassed by her ex-husband Lester, who is a Vietnam veteran who is mentally ill and prone to stalking . One day he stands in front of her house and is arrested because Faunia immediately calls the police.
At the end of the film, Coleman and Faunia die in Silk's car, which comes off the snowy lane when Lester Farley, driving in the opposite direction, approaches them with his car. A psychologist asks Lester Farley whether he feels guilty , which he denies. Only at Coleman's funeral does Zuckerman learn the secret of his origins from Coleman's sister and writes a book entitled "The Human Flaw" about Coleman Silk, who built his life around a lie . In one final encounter, Zuckerman tries to find out from Lester Farley whether he killed Silk and Faunia.
Reviews
Desson Thomson wrote in the Washington Post that the film "looks wonderful" as an actor's film. The problem is that that's the only way the film works.
Chicago Tribune critic Michael Wilmington praised Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman. The film has qualities that one would expect but rarely see: "Intelligence, ambition, humanity and poetry".
The Bayern 3 film database speaks of “a big cinema that remains strangely empty. 'The human flaw' was handcrafted by the director in terms of cast, dramaturgy and tension balance, […] so Nicole Kidman plays her role […] like in another film, the two (main actors) do not act together, but side by side. [...] Robert Benton's script version only gives a hint of the complexity and density of the novel. "
Awards
Anna Deavere Smith won the Black Reel Award in 2004 ; Wentworth Miller was nominated for the same award. The film was nominated for the 2004 Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Award and the Canadian Network of Makeup Artists Award for makeup.
backgrounds
Nicole Kidman spoke to the residents of the homes for the victims of violence in preparation for her role. Robert Benton said she understood the character being played; literally: " She didn't play that, she just was ".
The film was in Chicago , in various locations in Quebec and in Williamstown ( Massachusetts turned). Its production amounted to an estimated 30 million US dollars .
The world premiere took place on August 29, 2003 at the Venice International Film Festival , on September 6, 2003, the film was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival . This was followed by screenings at the Film by the Sea Film Festival , the Bergen International Film Festival , the Hollywood Film Festival and the Czech Febio Film Festival . On October 31, 2003, screenings began in select (fewer than 400 nationwide) cinemas in the United States. The theatrical release in German-speaking Switzerland followed on November 13, 2003 and in Germany on December 18, 2003. The human flaw brought in around 24.86 million US dollars worldwide, including around 5.38 million US dollars in cinemas in the USA .
Web links
- The Human Stain in theInternet Movie Database(English)
- The Human Stain atRotten Tomatoes(English)
- The Human Stain atMetacritic(English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Certificate of Release for The Human Flaw . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , December 2003 (PDF; test number: 96 314 K).
- ↑ Age rating for The Human Blemish . Youth Media Commission .
- ↑ www.rottentomatoes.com, accessed November 6, 2007
- ↑ Critique by Michael Wilmington (English) ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Film database Bayern 3 ( Memento from January 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Michael Kohler, Nicole Kidman , Bertz + Fischer Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-929470-42-X , pages 128-130
- ^ Filming locations for The Human Stain, accessed November 8, 2007
- ^ A b Box office / business for The Human Stain, accessed November 8, 2007
- ^ Opening dates for The Human Stain, accessed November 8, 2007
