Secret of a life

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Secret of a life
Original title Red Joan
Country of production United Kingdom
original language English
Publishing year 2018
length 97 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
JMK 10
Rod
Director Trevor Nunn
script Lindsay Shapero
production David Parfitt
music George Fenton
occupation

Secret of a Life (original title Red Joan ) is a film drama directed by Trevor Nunn , which celebrated its world premiere on September 7, 2018 at the Toronto International Film Festival . The story of the British pensioner Joan Stanley is told, alternating between now and flashbacks, who was exposed as a former KGB spy in old age . The film is based on a fictional novel, which in turn drew its inspiration from the Melita Norwood case . The film was released in cinemas in the United Kingdom on April 19, 2019 and in German cinemas on July 4, 2019.

action

In 2000, retired scientist Joan Stanley was arrested from her London apartment for high treason many years ago. During interrogation by counterintelligence officers, she denies any guilt, but tells her story.

Joan, who was studying physics in Cambridge shortly before World War II , was introduced by her fellow student Sonya to a group of politically active students and activists who support Republicans in Spain who dream of a classless, communist society. Sonya and her cousin Leo are Jewish refugees with Russian roots from Germany. Joan falls in love with the adventurous idealist Leo, who openly sympathizes with the Soviet Union.

At the beginning of World War II, Joan works for Professor Max Davies on a top-secret British secret project, a counterpart to the Manhattan Project . Leo urges them to reveal the secret information to the Russian side. She is faced with the difficult decision of whether to remain loyal to her country or to help Leo. It concludes that the Soviets should have the atomic bomb too, because only the balance of horror would prevent the great postwar powers from starting another war. In this way she becomes a traitor in the belief that she is doing a service to world peace.

Once the facts have been clarified, the British government will not prosecute Joan's advanced age.

Real historical background and production

Filming locations included the Senate House and Gonville and Caius College in Cambridge

The film tells the fictional story of Joan Stanleyvon, who was exposed as a British spy for the KGB, and is based on a fictional novel by Jennie Rooney from 2014. The inspiration for the novel came from the real case of Melita Norwood .

Directed by Trevor Nunn . The adaptation of Stanley's novel for the film was done by Lindsay Shapero . The score is composed by George Fenton .

In November / December 2017 the filming took place in Cambridge , for example on St John's Street in the city center, in front of the Senate House and Gonville and Caius College . The garden scenes were filmed in Newnham College in front of College Hall and on the riverside in St. John's College .

The film celebrated its world premiere on September 7, 2018 at the Toronto International Film Festival . IFC Films then secured the distribution rights for North America. In autumn 2018 there was a screening at the Zurich Film Festival . It was released in cinemas in the UK on April 19, 2019 and in German cinemas on July 4, 2019.

The German synchronization was created from the dialogue director of Nana Spier on behalf of the Scala Media GmbH, Berlin.

criticism

Rotten Tomatoes , where the film only achieved a positive rate of 30% with the critics, evaluates the film as “a fascinating story from real life, which in an astonishingly dreary way both the unbelievable intrigue of the story and the great one Judy Dench's talent wasted ”.

Awards

Toronto International Film Festival 2018

  • Nomination for the People's Choice Award ( Trevor Nunn )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of Release for Secret of a Life . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF; test number: 189434 / K). Template: FSK / maintenance / type not set and Par. 1 longer than 4 characters
  2. ↑ Age indicator for the secret of a life . Youth Media Commission .
  3. ↑ George Fenton Scoring Trevor Nunn's 'Red Joan' Film Music Reporter, August 27, 2018, accessed October 3, 2019
  4. ↑ Dame Judi Dench is shooting a movie in Cambridge - and you could appear in it , accessed October 3, 2019
  5. ↑ Adrian Peel: film crews shoot KGB spy thriller Red Joan starring Sophie Cookson in Cambridge , Cambridge Independent, December 5, 2017. Retrieved on October 3, 2019
  6. ^ Sophie Cookson filming 'Red Joan' filming in Cambridge , cambridge-news.co.uk, accessed October 3, 2019
  7. ↑ Judi Dench's Period Spy Thriller 'Red Joan' Picked Up by IFC Films The Wrap, September 14, 2018, accessed October 3, 2019
  8. ↑ ZFF, Red Joan by Trevor Nunn , accessed October 3, 2019
  9. ↑ Start dates Germany In: insidekino.com, accessed on March 31, 2019.
  10. ↑ Rotten romatoes , accessed April 7, 2020