Dear fatherland, may you be calm
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Dear fatherland, may you be calm |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1976 |
| length | 92 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16, later 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Roland click |
| script | Roland Klick based on the novel of the same name (1965) by Johannes Mario Simmel |
| production | Bernd Eichinger |
| music | Jürgen Knieper |
| camera | Jost Vacano |
| cut | Siegrun hunter |
| occupation | |
| |
Dear Fatherland may be quiet is a 1975 German film adaptation of a novel by Johannes Mario Simmel . Directed by Roland Klick , Heinz Domez , Catherine Allégret , Günter Pfitzmann and Georg Marischka play the leading roles in this East-West drama set during the Cold War .
action
West Berlin 1964. Exactly three years ago the Berlin Wall was built , which cuts through the city and brutally separated families and friends from one another. Gradually everyday life has settled. This apparent "normality" brings tourists from all over the world to the west of Berlin, who are driven to the wall to "shudder" and reduce the "anti-fascist protective wall" to a completely normal part of a city tour and sightseeing tour - with a view of the communist guards , who watch the hustle and bustle in the west of Berlin closely on the roofs of the east side of the divided city. On this anniversary of all things, when the GDR agencies are on high alert and all forces in the direction of the border crossings and Checkpoint Charlie have been turned off, a number of GDR citizens have once again escaped completely unnoticed through a tunnel from the east to the west of the city. The free world is jubilant, the Western press laughs at the trick that has been struck against the GDR, while in East Berlin the anger among the SED leaders is boiling. The mastermind behind this successful escape aid is the heavyweight Otto Fanzelau, who, in addition to his actual job, has a particularly dangerous job: He is an escape organizer and in many ways helps desperate East Berliners and GDR citizens to leave the Iron Curtain behind.
But now it's enough for the SED leadership. The Stasi has long since got wind of Fanzelau's activities and wants to put an end to the man who, in their eyes, is undermining the sovereignty of the socialist state and making socialism an international mockery. Stasi officer Wieland demands that East Berlin police officer Bräsig provide him with a suitable man for a special operation. Wieland selects the well-known petty crook Bruno, who is now being sent from East Berlin in a conspiratorial manner to the West in order to smuggle himself into the escape organization. The aim of this operation is to kidnap Otto Fanzelau and kidnap him to East Berlin, where the Stasi henchmen want to tackle him. But as soon as he arrives in the West, Bruno reveals himself to the authorities there. He wants to break away, no longer return to the GDR and needs the help of the West for a new beginning. Bruno confides in the criminal investigation officer Prangel and submits a deal to him: “I want to propose a clear deal to you: I'll give you a hot tip and you'll get me what I need for a fresh start. I want to stay here, in the west ”.
Kriminalrat Prangel accepts the proposal. The temptation to turn around a GDR agent with Bruno who is now working for the west side is too tempting, especially since Bruno reveals the reason for his posting to West Berlin: a political kidnapping, namely the Fanzelaus. Prangel contacts Fanzelau and asks him to pretend to be about the planned kidnapping of his person, as this is how they want to get to the Stasi superiors. But he's anything but enthusiastic. To keep Bruno at the bar, you can even bring his girlfriend from the East: In a dramatic, nighttime action, the young woman can be fished out of the deep dark border waters just before NVA - Grenzler can shoot at them. But now things are getting out of hand and Bruno, who has no experience as a double agent, is caught between all stools. After Bruno's revelation, the Americans do not just want to let him go and put pressure on him. Prangel passes this on to Bruno: He should initially continue to work as a double agent! Through the faked “kidnapping” of Fanzelau, which only failed at the last moment, an attempt should be made to get hold of some of the top people on the other side, preferably even Bräsig. Bruno recognizes the madness into which he has gotten more and more desperate and fears, not wrongly, for his life. Everything goes wrong promptly. Now he can only rely on his West buddy Oskar Knargenstein, known as "Knarge", with whom he used to do a lot of crooked things.
Production notes
The shooting of Dear Fatherland may be quiet began on August 12, 1975 in Berlin (West). The world premiere took place on March 26, 1976. The television premiere took place on January 24, 1985 on ZDF . Simmel's original has been clearly detoxified and shortened by numerous passages for the film.
Götz Heymann designed the film structures, Ingrid Zoré the costumes. Erwin Lange was responsible for the pyrotechnics .
The continuous film adaptation of Simmel's novels, which began in 1970 with And Jimmy went to the rainbow , ended with Dear Fatherland .
Awards
- Federal Film Prize 1976: Film tape in gold for cameraman Jost Vacano
- The film received the rating of Particularly Valuable
Reviews
“If he were to write the novel again, said the bestselling author Simmel, who died in 2009, he would stick to Roland Klick's script. It reduced the sprawling original, but provided a detailed portrait of the time, which one cannot blame for a few cliché figures. "
"Effectively staged action film based on a Simmel novel, which however annoys political phrases and penetrating sentimentality."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dear Fatherland, may you be quiet on cinema-online
- ↑ Dear Fatherland, may you be quiet in the dictionary of international films