The children are dead
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The children are dead |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 2003 |
| length | 80 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Aelrun Goette |
| script | Aelrun Goette |
| production | Thomas Kufus |
| music | Martin Todsharow |
| camera | Bernd Meiners |
| cut | Andreas Zitzmann |
The children are dead is a German documentary film from 2003. It revolves around the case of Daniela J., who left her two sons in the apartment for days in the summer of 1999, where they died of thirst and was sentenced to prison for this. Directed by Aelrun Goette , who also wrote the script.
background
The 23-year-old mother of four Daniela J. lived in a high-rise estate in Frankfurt (Oder) . Without permanent work and adequate support from the children's fathers, the young woman was increasingly overwhelmed. Often her own mother, with whom she herself had a complicated relationship, had to step in. Even before the events described, she took in the oldest child, a daughter. The youngest child has been put up for adoption. The two sons who remained with the mother died when J. stayed with her boyfriend for days and did not take care of the children because she mistakenly thought that they were in the care of her mother.
description
The film approaches the action by first questioning the environment. Former friends and other residents of the settlement mainly reveal that they knew the situation, but that no one felt obliged to intervene. The clerk at the youth welfare office denies statements that she was informed. Their attempts at justification allow insights into the limited scope for intervention by the authorities.
It turns out that many people are still unable to come to terms with the tragedy because the questions raised cast doubt on their own behavior.
The only person in the film who is able to do a kind of reflection without thinking that he has to defend himself is the undertaker, who took over the funeral for free in order to enable the children to say goodbye.
At the emotional center of the film are the juxtaposed interviews with Daniela J. and her mother, who took in the surviving child. This mainly reflects the failed relationship between the two. There are disappointments and accusations that make mutual understanding impossible, up to and including the daughter's allegation that her mother's partner abused her as a child. The mother, however, is of the opinion that the difficult and contradictory character of the daughter is above all a sign of rebellion towards her. The daughter must be punished for what she did.
The film deliberately limits itself to the very private tragedy without attempting a socially critical draft of the reunified Germany. Topics such as mutual disinterest, the inability to express feelings, the feeling of one's own inferiority combined with the social upheavals in the former GDR are not addressed directly, but rather conveyed as a subtext .
Awards
In 2004 the film won the German Film Prize in the Best Documentary Film category . He was also honored at the Prix regards neufs-Nyon and received the Baden Württemberg Documentary Film Prize .
Fatih Akın states that he initially considered the material for his contribution to Germany 09 , but during his research he “saw this overwhelming documentary The Children Are Dead - and it cannot be filmed more correctly or more forcefully than this film proves ".
Web links
- The children are dead in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The children are dead at Filmportal.de