The Manns - A novel of the century
Die Manns - A Century Novel is a three-part German television film by Heinrich Breloer from 2001. It was created as an international co-production by Bavaria Film , WDR and NDR , ARTE (all Germany) and SF DRS as well as C-FILMS AG (both Switzerland ).
action
Breloer's film is a so-called docu-drama about the Mann family. At the center of the plot is the story of the writer brothers Heinrich and Thomas Mann and their families. The scenes from the game are linked to documentary parts based primarily on interviews with Elisabeth Mann Borgese , who was still alive at the time . Breloer conducted the interviews and traveled her to original locations. In addition, the film is enriched with numerous older interviews.
Part 1 (1923 to 1933)
The first part of the film shows the Thomas Mann family in Munich. Thomas Mann and his wife Katia Mann have six children and live in an upper-class style.
Due to the global success of Thomas Mann's novels, they are financially independent. Heinrich Mann lives in Berlin and falls in love with Nelly Kröger , a simple woman. Josef von Sternberg filmed his novel Professor Unrat with Marlene Dietrich .
Thomas Mann was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1929 and his voice was also given political weight. The first part ends when the National Socialists seize power in 1933 and the Mann family fled abroad.
Part 2 (1933 to 1941)
After stays in France and Switzerland, Thomas Mann traveled to the USA in 1938 with his wife Katia and daughter Elisabeth . He takes on a professorship at Princeton and leads a well-protected life even in exile . Heinrich Mann lives in France. After the German occupation in 1940 he managed to escape to the USA via Spain and Portugal on adventurous routes with his wife Nelly and nephew Golo Mann .
Part 3 (1942 to 1955)
The third part describes the life of the Mann family in the USA and their commitment during World War II . While Thomas Mann leads a carefree life, Heinrich Mann and his wife Nelly become impoverished and become economically dependent on his brother. Nelly finally commits suicide, as does the drug addict and depressed Klaus Mann . Heinrich Mann falls seriously ill and dies in 1950. Thomas, Katia and Erika Mann return to Europe due to reprisals during the McCarthy era in 1952 and settle in Switzerland. Shortly before his death in 1955, Thomas visited his hometown Lübeck again, where he was given honorary citizenship.
Reviews
"The kaleidoscopic, exciting and differentiated family portrait is made up of scenes from the game, reports from contemporary witnesses and memories and encompasses half a century of German history, which is illustrated by the exposed individual fate."
Awards
- Adolf Grimme Prize in Gold 2002 for the film as well as individual awards to Heinrich Breloer (book / director), Horst Königstein (book), Gernot Roll (camera), Armin Mueller-Stahl, Monica Bleibtreu, Jürgen Hentsch, Veronica Ferres, Sophie Rois and Sebastian Koch (actor)
- German television award 2002
- 7 Bavarian television awards for directors and actors
- Golden Camera 2002 for Heinrich Breloer
- Emmy Award 2002
Others
In addition to the television film, Breloer also made a documentary film which, although it also contains scenes from the television film version, mainly focuses on the interviews with Elisabeth Mann Borgese. The film was also shown as a three-part series under the title Unterwegs zur Familie Mann on German television. It is included as an extra on the DVD version.
Web links
- The Manns - Novel of a Century in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Stefan Steinberg, Ulrich Rippert : A debate about "The Manns: a novel of the century" (wsws.org)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Manns - A novel of the century. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ^ The winners at a glance , Spiegel online of March 12, 2002