Faust (2011)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | fist |
| Country of production | Russia |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 2011 |
| length | 134 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Alexander Sokurov |
| script |
Yuri Arabov , Marina Korenewa, Aleksander Sokurow |
| production | Andrei Sigle |
| music | Andrei Sigle |
| camera | Bruno Delbonnel |
| cut | Jörg Hauschild |
| occupation | |
| |
Faust is a Russian feature film from 2011 . Alexander Sokurow directed and wrote the script together with Marina Korenewa and Yuri Arabov. The film is a free interpretation of the fist material , which is set in a German city of the 19th century. After Moloch (1999), Telets (2001) and The Sun (2005) constitutes own conclusion about Sokurov power - tetralogy .
The reception of the film was mostly positive. He was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival in 2011 .
content
A German city in the 19th century: the scholar Heinrich Faust tries to get to the bottom of the mystery of life. For this he examines corpses with his Famulus Wagner for the hiding place of the soul. Forced by financial difficulties, Faust turns to the old usurer Mauricius Müller, who gradually turns out to be the embodiment of the devil. He promises him help, but first leads Faust through the obscure city. In a washing hall, the scholar falls in love with the young laundress Margarete. Completely fascinated by their beauty, he believes that they understand the connection between life and death through them. During a visit to the bar with Mauricius, Faust kills a soldier who had an intoxicated argument with Mauricius. He later learns that it is Margarete's brother. Faust takes the opportunity to see Margarete again at her brother's funeral. He and Margarete get closer, but this displeases her mother. He later sends Mauricius to bring the family money, but Mauricius advises against further monetary gifts.
Faust's assistant Wagner also has feelings for Margarete and even claims to be the real Faust, whose ideas Faust only stole. As proof, he shows her his only real invention, a homunculus . Margarete feels oppressed by him and throws the glass with the homunculus on the floor, so that Wagner dies to Wagner's horror. When Margarete later learns that Faust killed her brother, she wants to end the relationship. Faust follows her in a church and turns her against her mother.
In the end, Faust signs an immoral contract with the diabolical pawnbroker: in exchange for his soul, the latter gives him a poison that Wagner originally got for Faust because he wanted to kill himself with it. Faust gets Margarete to kill her mother with the poison so that Faust can spend a night with her undisturbed. However, he is haunted by fears and pain while ghostly figures enter the room. He flees to Mauricius. The latter forces armor on him and rides with him into an eerie mountain landscape, which is apparently the afterlife or hell , because Faust meets three dead there, including Margarete's dead brother, who embrace him and do not let go until Mauricius drives in between. Faust refuses to stop, but always wants to go on and explore the area; even his initial fascination with a geyser is short-lived. Mauricius continues to torment him with his nihilistic remarks and reminds Faust of their contract and that it is his. Faust stones him and symbolically buries him under a pile of stones. Finally he runs towards another, snow-covered landscape with the words: “There! Further! Always on! "
History of origin
Shooting began on August 20, 2009. Exterior shots were taken at Točník Castle and in Ledec nad Sázavou , Lipnice nad Sázavou and Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic . Indoor recordings were made in the Barrandov Studios film studio in Prague. Then they drove to Iceland, where various outdoor shots were taken before the last shot fell on November 20, 2009.
The entire film was shot in German, a language that Russian director Sokurow does not understand. When asked why he shot all the scenes in German, he replied: “I had no other choice, the topic forced it. The language is decisive for the atmosphere, it is the expression of the mentality par excellence. ” Produced by Proline Film and Mass Media Support Fund of Russia , the production costs of the film in the end amounted to 8 to 10 million euros.
The power tetralogy
Faust concludes Sokurov's power tetralogy, begun in 1999 with the film Moloch . In Moloch , Hitler's stay in his country house on Obersalzberg is the theme, Telets (2001) describes Lenin's agony and The Sun (2005) shows the last days of the Second World War of the Japanese Emperor Hirohito . Faust , the last part of the tetralogy, is thematically to be placed before the other three films, because he explores the different origins of power. Sokurow wanted to close his cycle in a circle, at the end there is a return to the beginning. Faust stops where the other films begin: " Faust's triumphal procession through the world is only now beginning: he is setting out to become a tyrant, a politician, an oligarch: a Lenin, a Hitler, an Abramovich ".
What is the connection between Faust, Hitler, Lenin and Hirohito? Sokurow understands the separation and turning away from nature as the birth of the real evil. The great figures of world history fail in different ways to dominate nature and to appropriate it. Faust joins this series with his attempt to find the soul in a human corpse. For Sokurov, the great and actually powerful men are those who accept the silence of nature.
The end of the film can be seen as the beginning of the crimes of the 20th century. Faust and Mauricius get lost in a gray, barren stone landscape. There Faust symbolically buries the devil and finally sets off towards the mountains on the horizon: the march into the century of crime, the real devil.
Inspirations and references
Sokurow's Faust makes use of three types of artistic models: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau and Thomas Mann .
Goethe is probably the greatest source of inspiration. Sokurow is largely based on Goethe's Faust variant. He combines Faust I with Faust II . As a thumb in the movie finally rebelled against Mauricius and buries him under a pile of stones, whines this: "Stay a while, that's not nice." When Goethe says in verse 11 582: "Stay awhile, you are so beautiful." It is also Faust who utters the words at the moment when his needs are met. Sokurow takes over the thoughts, backdrops and contents of Goethe's Faust , but breaks them and continues them. Thus the film becomes a pendulum between Goethe's version and Sokurow's ideas. Furthermore, Goethe's color theory served as a visual model. Sokurow: "It is one of the fundamental aesthetic treatises that I believe have great practical value." Other stylistic references can be found in paintings by Rembrandt and Pieter Bruegel the Elder .
Sokurow's devil Mauricius Müller looks a lot like FW Murnau's Nosferatu with his pale face. In addition, Faust and Murnau's 1926 Faust - A German Folk Tale, started almost the same way: with a prologue in heaven. Except that Sokurow is missing God and Mephisto, there is a fog-like emptiness. Then the deductive camera dives down into the village, again based on Murnau's film.
The connection to Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann is not clear. In Mann's novel, the third realm is the triumph of Mephistus, who Faust definitely took possession of this time. The devil wins the upper hand in Germany. After Mann, however, Faust is now a stranger in politics and does not know what to do. With Sokurov, politics also play a role. In the village without God it is not practiced and it dies. Mauricius pulls the strings and confiscates everything before final liquidation. Politics no longer matters.
reception
Publication and reviews
The film premiered on September 8, 2011 at the 68th Venice International Film Festival. Jury President Darren Aronofsky was enthusiastic: “There are films that make you dream, cry, laugh and think, and there are films that change your life forever. This is one of those films. ” The film then screened on September 11, 2011 at the Toronto International Film Festival . The film was also shown at the Pusan International Film Festival, the São Paulo International Film Festival and the London Film Festival .
When Faust was released in German-speaking cinemas on January 19, 2012, the trade press was overwhelmingly positive. Ralf Schenk from film-dienst described the film as “a powerful, symphonically structured journey into the labyrinth of ruin.” Furthermore, the film is also a disturbingly surrealistic parable of the present that endeavors relentlessly to be honest. In epd-Film , Andreas Busche said that the film was reminiscent of the Expressionism of the early 20th century and a cabinet of curiosities when the figures and rooms were filmed through distorting mirrors. Furthermore, Johannes Zeiler plays Faust as a gambler - fast and mischievous. In the Tagesspiegel , Jan Schulz-Ojala wrote that Sokurow's Faust was a solitaire - nothing more and nothing less than the brilliant reinvention of a classic fabric that itself has what it takes to become a classic. For Peter Kümmel von der Zeit , the film is primarily something for listeners. You can hear the puffing of people, the barking of dogs, the clink of bridles, in short the rustling noise of the world. In addition, the unsaleable and worn lights, colors and perspectives make Faust look old, the pictures are washed out as if they came from a time when film was not even possible. The film thus stands in contrast to the technological marvels of recent film history. Rupert Koppold wrote on the website of the Stuttgarter Zeitung that this type of cinema is infinitely far removed from the commercial mainstream, it does not meet the viewer an inch. And that is precisely why this fatalistic Faust is an event. Ekaterina Vassilieva from the film magazine Schnitt was convinced that the alliance with the woman at Sokurow was always associated with the loss of manhood. It is not for nothing that his Gretchen Mephisto is sympathetic, while with Goethe she is terribly afraid of the presence of the devil. But it is precisely in this “feminization” of the hero that the director sees the chance for his renewal. Because a seeker, a creator simply has to overcome the boundaries, be it between male and female, between heroism and sin. And that is why Faust is probably the only one who emerges victorious from Sokurov's tetralogy on the nature of power. The cinema , however, said something negative that while the theatrical and operatic staging revel in expressive images and Body Worlds, but it does not manage to develop the brittle text for younger viewers.
Visitor numbers and box office results
The film was seen in German cinemas by June 2012 by 36,979 people, in Portugal by April 24, 2013 by 1,448 people. The box office results in Italy amounted to 453,470 euros at the end of 2011, in the United States of America to the end of April 2014 to 58,104 US dollars. It must be taken into account here that Faust was often only shown in very few cinemas in the countries.
Awards (selection)
Faust was awarded a total of 14 film prizes and nominated for 15 more. For example, he won the Golden Lion and the Future Film Festival Digital Award at the Venice International Film Festival. The Wiesbaden film evaluation agency awarded the film the title “particularly valuable”. The reason given is: “ Embedded in monumental landscapes and an elaborate setting, Sokurow lets his actors immerse themselves in Goethe's drama, without sticking slavishly close to the original. The composition of the picture looks almost like painting, the music is operatic and powerful and the play of the international theater greats gathered here is expressive and powerful. A highly energetic film adaptation of the literature, which shines Goethe's work in a new light. "
The following list gives an overview of the various awards and nominations.
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Magazine and newspaper articles
- Schenk, Ralf: Faust . In: film-dienst 2/2012 (January 19, 2012). P. 36.
- Busche, Andreas: Faust . In: epd film 1/2012. P. 41.
- Schulz-Ojala, Jan: Stay a while. This is what eternal life looks like: Alexander Sokurow's grandiose Faust vision . In: Der Tagesspiegel from January 19, 2012. P. 27.
- Kümmel, Peter: Always forward, live on! The most German film ever made: Alexander Sokurov's monomaniac Faust . In: Die Zeit from January 19, 2012. p. 39.
- Platthaus, Andreas: Germany, pale motherland . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung from January 19, 2012.
- Béghin, Cyril: Comment Faust passa la montagne . In: Cahiers du Cinéma No. 679 (June 2012). Pp. 6-11
- Le Rider, Jacques: Entre Goethe, Murnau et Thomas Mann . In: Cahiers du Cinéma No. 679 (June 2012). Pp. 12-13
Conversations with Alexander Sokurov
- Nord, Christina: Faust is just a demagogue . In: taz from January 19, 2012.
- Schmidt, Thomas: Misfortune means danger. Why is German culture becoming ever narrower? A conversation with the Russian director Alexander Sokurow about his Faust film . In: Die Zeit from January 19, 2012. p. 40.
- Alexandre Sokourov, peintre de la color . In: Cahiers du Cinéma No. 679 (June 2012). P. 14.
Web links
- Fist in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Faust at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- Press booklet for the film (PDF; 384 kB) on the website mfa-film.de
- Faust in the online film database
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release certificate for Faust . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , February 2012 (PDF; test number: 130 039 V).
- ↑ a b Kümmel: Always forward, live on! The most German film ever made: Alexander Sokurov's monomaniac Faust . In: Die Zeit from January 19, 2012. p. 39.
- ^ Filming locations. In: Internet Movie Database . Retrieved November 24, 2012 .
- ^ Schmidt: Misfortune means danger. Why is German culture becoming ever narrower? A conversation with the Russian director Alexander Sokurow about his Faust film . In: Die Zeit from January 19, 2012. p. 40.
- ^ Box Office / Business for Faust. In: Internet Movie Database . Retrieved November 24, 2012 .
- ↑ FAUST press release (p. 2). (PDF; 384 kB) (No longer available online.) In: http://www.mfa-film.de/ . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on January 23, 2013 (German). 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.
- ↑ a b c Béghin: Comment Faust passa la montagne . In: Cahiers du Cinéma No. 679 (June 2012). P. 10.
- ^ FAUST press booklet (p. 18, quotation from the Russian film critic Michail Jamploski). (PDF; 384 kB) (No longer available online.) In: http://www.mfa-film.de/ . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on January 23, 2013 (German). 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.
- ↑ a b Le Rider: Entre Goethe, Murnau et Thomas Mann . In: Cahiers du Cinéma No. 679 (June 2012). P. 12.
- ↑ a b c Le Rider: Entre Goethe, Murnau et Thomas Mann . In: Cahiers du Cinéma No. 679 (June 2012). P. 13.
- ↑ Alexandre Sokourov, peintre de la couleur. In: Cahiers du Cinéma No. 679 (June 2012). P. 14. Quote: "C'est l'un des traités esthétiques fondamentaux qui possède, à mes yeux, une grande valeur pratique."
- ^ Béghin: Comment Faust passa la montagen. In: Cahiers du Cinéma No. 679 (June 2012). P. 14
- ^ Venice Film Festival. Fassbender honored as best actor. In: Stern. Accessed November 15, 2012 (German).
- ↑ Nick Vivarelli: Faust wins Golden Lion. In: Variety . Retrieved November 17, 2012 .
- ↑ Release dates for Faust. In: Internet Movie Database . Retrieved January 26, 2012 (English).
- ↑ Schenk: Faust . In: film-dienst 2/2012. P. 36.
- ↑ Busche: Faust . In: epd film 1/2012. P. 41.
- ↑ Schulz-Ojala: Stay a while. So this is what eternal life looks like: Alexander Sokurov's grandiose version of Faust . In: Der Tagesspiegel from January 19, 2012. P. 27.
- ↑ Rupert Koppold: It is far too late to leave. In: Stuttgarter Zeitung. Archived from the original on January 22, 2012 ; accessed on November 16, 2012 (German).
- ↑ Ekaterina Vassilieva: The Discreet Charm of the Devil. In: cut. Retrieved on November 17, 2012 (German).
- ↑ Faust. In: Cinema . Retrieved on November 17, 2012 (German).
- ↑ Faust. In: filmportal.de . Retrieved on September 6, 2015 (German).
- ^ A b Box office / business for Faust. In: Internet Movie Database . Retrieved September 6, 2015 .
- ↑ Faust. In: Filmbewertungsstelle Wiesbaden . Retrieved January 23, 2013 (German).
- ^ Awards for Faust. In: Internet Movie Database . Retrieved November 16, 2012 .
