Henri 4
Henri 4 (alternatively also: Henri IV ) is a historical film from 2010. It was directed by Jo Baier and is based on the novels The Youth of King Henri Quatre and The Completion of King Henri Quatre by Heinrich Mann . The feature film is a German-French-Austrian-Spanish co-production.
action
France in 1563. Calvinist Protestantism has arrived in France. But the Catholic reaction is not long in coming and the small but steadily growing Protestant population is suppressed in French society. However, the Huguenots , particularly in the south of France and in the small kingdom of Navarre near Spain, resisted. Katharina de Medici , the actual ruler of France, wants to counter this. Her two sons, Charles IX. and D'Anjou show weakness in this fight, and Henri , the young Prince of Navarre, vital strength. Katharina de Medici has to give in and makes Henri an offer of peace, which he, tired of fighting, accepts. This peace also means that Henri Margot , the daughter of the Medicis, married in Paris. But even during the wedding celebrations, the Catholics strike: They cause a bloodbath among the Protestant wedding guests who have traveled. About 30,000 Huguenots die on this Bartholomew Night .
background
The film was shot in 2008 in the Adendorf Castle, among other places . The production costs amounted to approximately 20 million euros. The ARD broadcasters were also involved in the German-French-Austrian-Spanish co-production . The film is one of the so-called amphibious films, so a longer TV version was made in addition to the theatrical version.
On February 7, 2010, Henri 4 had its European premiere in Germany. The film opened in German cinemas on March 4, 2010. A week later it was shown on French television. With only about 40,000 moviegoers in Germany, Henri 4 was ranked 66th among the German movies of 2010 and was a failure at the box office.
The longer TV version was shown for the first time on Good Friday 2012 on Erste and ORF 2 .
Reviews
"Three-hour visual torture: The ARD historical film" Henri 4 ", which is based on the two Heinrich Mann tomes about" Henri Quatre ", proves once again that there are very bad films made of very good novels. It doesn't help that there is plenty of blood flowing and a lot of pounding. "
“A war in the name of religion. [...] German cinema is daring. And: It can do something. “Henri 4”, a Ziegler Film production, devoured almost ten years of preparation and 20 million euros. The result is impressive. The historical drama doesn't just keep up with international standards. It also proves what outstanding actors Germany has, who can convince not only in all kinds of Saturday night thrillers, but also on the big stage. "Henri 4" is a film with real characters and therefore a film with character. "
“As is so often the case with unsuccessful films, most of the problems are already hidden in the script, and not much remains of the complexity of the fantastic original. [...] "
“What sounds very promising unfortunately fails terribly. Rarely have the potential and reality of a film been so far apart as in Henri 4. Here the trick succeeds in occupying almost all roles in an irritatingly consistent manner ... Baier puts seemingly meaningful sentences in his characters' mouths that outdo each other in their banality search. Inevitably the thought arises that one has already heard the wooden dialogues like this or something like that umpteen times. The empty content is doubled by a disjointed narrative. "
“The figure drawings are full of embarrassing clichés that even the best ensemble could not save anything. Seen in this way, "Henri 4" is more than just a typical amphibian film. Because it's not just long and boring. It's also really bad. "
“First and foremost, Baier tells Henri's life as that of a voluptuary who is repeatedly shown in bed with new women. The flavourful camera pays special attention to these scenes and the shapely breasts of the actresses - some things would have fitted better into the Bavarian Lederhosenkino of the 1970s than with this material! The rest is relationship drama and family clothes, although you never know exactly how much intent is and what the creators simply undermined. Like the script, the staging also seems like a surrender to the subject. "
“She [Regina Ziegler] regards the million dollar Henri 4 after Heinrich Mann as a message of tolerance, as her legacy. The cinema production flopped in 2010; Love is blind, Ziegler knows that. "
Awards
Mask and supporting actor Ulrich Noethen were nominated for the German Film Award in 2010 .
Web links
- Henri 4 in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Henri 4 at filmportal.de
- Website for the film
References and comments
- ↑ The film first ran on April 6, 2012 on Das Erste and was shown at the same time on ORF 2 , although the ARD version was announced to be 180 minutes long, but it did not reach it.
- ^ Certificate of release for Henri 4 . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , December 2009 (PDF; test number: 120 642 K).
- ^ General-Anzeiger Bonn online - "Henri 4" takes place at Adendorf Castle
- ↑ a b Filmstarts.de - Henri 4 ; Accessed March 4, 2010.
- ↑ Film hit list: Annual list (German) 2010 ( Memento of the original from March 17, 2013 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. , Film Funding Agency; Accessed April 3, 2011.
- ↑ Period film "Henri 4" on ARD: From sadomasochism to soft sex, everything is on offer. to: www.sueddeutsche.de , accessed May 30, 2013.
- ↑ Computerbild - Filmkritik - Drama - Henri 4 ( Memento of the original from March 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Accessed March 4, 2010.
- ↑ Tim Geyer: Henri 4 , accessed February 10, 2012.
- ↑ Ula Brunner: Sex and violence in the 16th century ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2014 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. , accessed February 10, 2012.
- ↑ film-dienst, No. 5/2010, p. 35.
- ^ Claudia Tieschky: Traumfabrikantin , Süddeutsche Zeitung , March 8, 2014, p. 32
