The gentle run

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Movie
Original title The gentle run
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1967
length 86 minutes
Age rating FSK from 16
Rod
Director Haro Senft
script Haro Senft,
Hans Noever
production Haro Senft
music Erich Ferstl
camera Jan Čuřík
cut Thurid little son
occupation

The gentle run is a German feature film that was shot in Munich and Prague in 1966, completed and premiered in 1967. It is one of the first six feature films which, as a result of the demands of the Oberhausen Manifesto, were partially financed by the Board of Trustees for Young German Films in 1965 as "directors' funding". It is the first feature film with Bruno Ganz in the lead role.

action

Bernhard Kral wanted to become an electrical engineer. An incident during his student days interrupted his career. In a bar he physically silenced a neo-Nazi babbler. The result was a severe sentence that was suspended but resulted in expulsion from the technical college. Today he works in the shipping department of an electrical company. In the antique shop that belongs to the wife of his friend Wolf Kamper, he meets the girl Johanna Benedikt. Johanna and Bernhard fall in love. Johanna's father, the building contractor Richard Benedikt, takes a liking to the young man and decides to secretly sponsor him. He made inquiries about him and influenced Bernhard's boss, who he knew, to promote Bernhard. Bernhard is successful and is delusional that he owes his promotion to his achievements. Through a trip to his native city of Prague, which he undertakes with Johanna, he hopes to get more clarity about his difficulties with his environment. After his return he learns from a work colleague that he owes his professional success to the result of manipulation. The question: 'surrender or insurrection' remains open.

Reviews

“An honest and cautious film that depicts the 'smooth course' of the adaptation without any added effects. Senft does not make his protagonist a martyr; he does not show the 'capitalist' Benedict as a monster. Extreme positions only become clear in marginal figures: visitors to Benedikt or Kral's friend, for whom the alleged protest against society only serves as an excuse for his inability to live. But again and again, and not least in the scenes in Prague, the viewer is presented with approaches that provoke him to take a stand. "

- Reclam's film guide

“Haro Senft appears to be truly committed. His film 'The Gentle Run' is honest, averse to any bluff: a cautious author's film in the sense of self-realization and in the sense of becoming conscious, which should also be valid for the environment. Senft's talent for image and composition, for spatial depth, for flowing rhythm and his craftsmanship are unmistakable. His predilection for avoiding the cinema face also gives the film something unconventional. The theme is the self-evident career of a young man whose love affair with a girl in the financial world is what causes this gentle, imperceptible rise. The realization that his social position can be manipulated externally leads to the hero's ironic protection against the environment. This external process is combined with a trip to Prague, which becomes a trip into the past. This would thematically make the filmed society vulnerable and fragile. The destruction of an environmental relationship is clearly shown. This is where reflection takes place. The process of critical discussion is demonstrated almost like a model. There is a restriction to a sparse visual presence. Almost unadorned, carried only by a real photograph, behavior is targeted. But through the gentle intimate play, the thematic engagement is defused so much, and the inner anger is deprived, that ultimately the very consciously handled film form looks like arts and crafts. As much as I appreciate Senft's soothing modesty, I would have wished the film that breeze of annoyance that would have been appropriate to the subject. However, if you follow the reaction of part of the German press, this gentle film seems to have been nuisance enough as it is. The German establishment is so vulnerable - perhaps precisely because Senft formally did not break any fetters and thus enabled a high degree of identification. "

- From CINEMA. Official organ of the Swiss film clubs, special issue "Young German Film" 1/2 issue spring 68

“A young, aspiring electrical engineer falls in love with the daughter of a wealthy building contractor and receives professional support from her father without his knowledge. In the end, it remains to be seen whether he will continue on the gentle path of adaptation or opt for an independent existence. In his first feature film, Haro Senft analyzes the needs and conflicts of the West German post-war generation between idealistic awakening and pragmatic practical constraints. In its clear criticism of the materialism of the affluent society and in its examination of social reality it is an exemplary work of 'Young German Films'. "

Awards

  • 1968 - Federal feature film premium
  • 2015 - Willy Haas Prize 2015 (for the DVD The gentle run )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. The gentle run. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed December 19, 2016 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used