The Red Zora
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Red Zora |
| Country of production | Germany , Sweden , Montenegro |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 2008 |
| length | 99 minutes |
| Age rating |
FSK 6 JMK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Peter Kahane |
| script | Peter Kahane Ronald Kruschak Christian Zübert |
| production |
Malte Grunert Claudia Schröder |
| music | Detlef Petersen |
| camera | Dragan Rogulj |
| cut | Gudrun Steinbrück |
| occupation | |
| |
Die Rote Zora is a children's film by the German director Peter Kahane from 2008 based on the children's book Die Rote Zora und seine Gang by Kurt Held in 1941 . It is the second film adaptation of the material after the 1979 television series Die Rote Zora und seine Gang ( NDR) and Studio Hamburg were involved in the production. The film, shot in Montenegro, received financial support from the Hamburg Film Fund .
action
1930s: After the death of his mother, the young man Branko looks for his father. In Senj , a small town on the Croatian coast, he overheard how the mayor Iveković and the fishmonger Karaman are making plans to drive the local fishermen into poverty and to secure Karaman's monopoly on fresh fish. When Karaman realizes that they are being overheard, he arrests Branko for alleged theft. Although the fisherman Gorian stood up for him, he was put in prison, but a little later freed by the red-haired Zora and accepted into her gang of orphans who live in a ruined castle. Since they are poor, they have to steal food to survive, which is why they are persecuted as criminals.
The members of the gang (Zora, Branko, Pavle, Nikola and Đuro) call themselves Uskoks . Their hiding place is a ruined castle. In a fight with the high school students, one of the high school students pulls a knife and injures Pavle. Karaman's son, who has been captured, is forced by Zora to strip completely naked to make a stretcher. The gang withdraws to their hiding place, but is followed by the high school student. During the night they can escape from the police and Karaman through a secret passage in time. Since they need help for the injured, they turn to the fisherman Gorian. He picks them up.
The gang members help Gorian fish. Branko wants to learn the violin and therefore turns to the mayor's daughter, Zlata. She teaches him. With the help of the children, Gorian manages to catch a large tuna fish. By influencing Karaman, Gorian cannot find buyers for the fish. Only when he threatens Karaman to release the caught fish does Karaman buy the catch. Karaman would like to give the largest fish to Mayor Iveković. Karaman's dog is unruly, and Karaman kills the dog. The fisherman shares the money raised with the gang members.
Zora buys a dress and wants to please Branko. But he only has eyes for Zlata. Branko swims to Zlata's beach, Đuro wants to catch the supposed traitor, but is attacked by a giant octopus in front of the beach. Branko helps him. As a result, the gang members come together again.
The members of the gang hear that a dead dog was previously given to the mayor if he was not trusted. At the birthday party for the mayor, Karaman hands him the supposed big fish. But it is a dead dog, his dog. Citizens make fun of the incident. Zlata suspects that the gang of the red Zora is behind it. She confronts Branko in her room and tells him that she learned that his father is also a thief who ran away with the band's money. She locks Branko in a room and alerts the police. Zora, who had followed Branko, can free him. But they are discovered and captured.
The rest of the gang are caught and have to go to court. The mayor is demanding three years and imprisonment for the fisherman Gorian for helping them. Gorian turns to the citizens and points out the reasons for the children's misdeeds. He looks for people to help the children and finds them. This is how the members of the gang find work, accommodation and a livelihood. Zlata leaves the village to study.
Location
Because of the clearly visible modernizations in recent years, Senj was no longer an option as a location. The unspoilt coast of Montenegro served as a film set. The coastal town of Perast serves as Senj in the film.
Reviews
"The result is a very superficial film for children that tries hard with the historical props, but hardly ever succeeds in conveying the children's perspective, who should actually be the focus of the story, in a credible way."
“Peter Kahane has shortened the novel to the cornerstones of the plot and shifted the main emphasis to the action - with many chases through picturesque alleys and a turbulent fight with a giant octopus. Held's social criticism falls by the wayside. The rough drawing of the villains is even more serious. Stupid police officers are now part of the cliché of children's films. But rarely has Dominique Horwitz - bald, so that the ears protrude even more cheeky - and Ben Becker seen so badly. Only Mario Adorf gains profile with his natural representation. "
“The film does not get beyond a pleasant entertainment value that sticks to the social surface, in which the reality of the 1930s is transfigured and falsified by many lovingly staged props from those years. […] Only Mario Adorf, as an old fisherman who takes care of Zora and her gang and campaigns for the rights of children for his own benefit and yet unselfishly, exudes so much charisma and naturalness that he doesn't just seem to play his role but actually embodies it. In the case of a film in which the young people and their perspective should actually be the focus, that is not enough. "
Awards
The film received the rating “Particularly valuable” from the film evaluation office in Wiesbaden. The reasoning states: "The timeless topics of friendship, trust, family and longing for security, but also first infatuation, dreams and hopes are here humorous and carefully dealt with, especially the negative sides of life, such as jealousy, disappointments and Injuries prevent the film from sliding into an all-too-perfect world view. "
literature
- Kurt Held : The red Zora and her gang . Special edition with the original text on the occasion of the remake "Die Rote Zora". Sauerländer, Düsseldorf 2007, 415 pages, ISBN 978-3-7941-6115-7 or ISBN 3-7941-6115-7
Web links
- Official page for the film
- Die Rote Zora in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Die Rote Zora in the online film database
- Die Rote Zora at filmportal.de
- Criticism from Andreas Staben at filmstarts.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Age rating for Die Rote Zora . Youth Media Commission .
- ↑ The Red Zora. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 10, 2017 .
- ↑ http://www.abendblatt.de/daten/2008/01/24/840028.html
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from January 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated December 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
