Philomena (film)

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Movie
German title Philomena / (alternative title): Philomena - A mother is looking for her son
Original title Philomena
Country of production United Kingdom
original language English
Publishing year 2013
length 98 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
JMK 8
Rod
Director Stephen Frears
script Steve Coogan , Jeff Pope
production Steve Coogan
Tracey Seaward
Gabrielle Tana
music Alexandre Desplat
camera Robbie Ryan
cut Valerio Bonelli
occupation

Philomena is a British film drama by Stephen Frears from the year 2013 . Judi Dench plays the almost 70-year-old Philomena Lee , who, together with the journalist Martin Sixsmith, goes in search of her long-lost son. The film tells a true story based on the book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by Martin Sixsmith. It was produced by BBC Films in association with Pathé and has received numerous awards and nominations since its world premiere in August 2013. The German film release for Philomena was February 27, 2014.

action

Retired nurse Philomena Lee admits to her daughter that exactly 50 years ago she had given birth to an illegitimate son. In Ireland , which was strictly Catholic at the time , unmarried mothers were often sent to a Magdalene home for birth , then forced to work (to pay the cost of childbirth and to atone for their “ sin ”), and their child was given up for adoption - including their son Anthony. After Philomena had done her four years of forced labor (7 days a week) with the strict nuns , she left the monastery and began a new life. But every day she thought of her firstborn. She tried several times to find her son - but without success. On his 50th birthday, she decides to give up her silence.

Philomena's daughter Jane meets former BBC reporter Martin Sixsmith at a party and tells him her mother's story. After initial disinterest, he agrees to accompany Philomena in the search for her son and to report on it. At the same party, Sixsmith meets the editor-in-chief of a tabloid magazine , who promptly agrees to fund the research and publish the story.

A first visit to the monastery is sobering: Although the rules are now less strict, all the adoption documents were allegedly destroyed in a fire. In the village pub, however, Sixsmith learns that it was not an accident, but a targeted destruction of evidence. He also learns that the children were often placed in the USA for large sums of money .

As Sixsmith hopes to build on old connections from his time as a US correspondent, he and Philomena travel to Washington . In fact, it turns out that Anthony - who was renamed Michael A. Hess after adoption - had a career as an advisor to Presidents Reagan and Bush Sr. but also that he was homosexual and died of AIDS in 1995 .

Contrary to Sixsmith's fears (who has to fulfill a contract with the tabloid magazine), Philomena decides, if she can no longer meet her son in person, at least to ask the people around her. The decisive factor is the photo of a press conference on which not only Philomena's son, but also Sixsmith himself can be seen as a correspondent. He remembers that he had met Anthony / Michael at the White House and had a positive impression of him. Philomena's interest is piqued in spite of her grief.

The first contact person is Mary, who was born in the same convent. Originally only Mary was to be adopted, but since she and Anthony were inseparable as toddlers, they were both adopted without further ado.

The next person to contact is Anthony / Michael's former partner Pete Olsson. Contact was difficult at first, as Olsson let himself be denied by his office. Worn down by the rejection, Philomena wants to break off the search, especially since her son had apparently never been interested in his roots and his Irish ancestry. However, Sixsmith notices a pin in the shape of an Irish harp in one of the photos : Philomena's son was well aware of his origins. When Sixsmith shows up at Olsson's home, he is turned away at the door; but Philomena manages to establish contact. Together with Olsson they watch old videos and Super 8 films , and Philomena and Sixsmith learn that shortly before his death, Anthony / Michael had visited the monastery in Ireland in which he was born to live with his biological mother to find. Even more: he even had himself buried there against the wishes of his adoptive father.

Philomena and Sixsmith travel back to Ireland and visit the monastery again. In an unobserved moment, Sixsmith gains access to the nuns' living area and confronts the then responsible and now very old sister Hildegard. Like then, the latter is not aware of any guilt and describes mothers of illegitimate children as sinners. Philomena joins them and forgives her - albeit with a heavy heart.

She gives Martin Sixsmith permission to publish her life story with her name.

publication

Philomena celebrated its world premiere on August 31, 2013 in competition at the 70th Venice International Film Festival . The film was released in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2013 and hit theaters in Germany on February 27, 2014.

Reviews

" Philomena , with whom Stephen Frears returns to the top form of his Die Queen , has the perfect balance of comedy and tragedy."

- Focus: film

"Philomena tells a fascinating story and the good acting performances definitely make the film a recommendation."

- USA Today

"Critic's conclusion: Philomena not only convinces with great leading actors, but also with a very good script in which every formulation and development of the story is successful."

- Sonja Hartl on Spielfilm.de

Awards

  • Venice International Film Festival 2013
    • Best Screenplay (Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope)
    • Brian Award (Stephen Frears)
    • Queer Lion (Stephen Frears)
    • SIGNIS Award (Stephen Frears)
    • Premio Leoncino d'Oro Agiscuola - Cinema for UNICEF (Stephen Frears)
    • Nazareno Taddei Prize (Stephen Frears)
    • Golden Mouse (Stephen Frears)
    • Vittorio Veneto Film Festival Award (Stephen Frears)
    • Interfilm Award (Stephen Frears)
  • Satellite Award : Best Adapted Screenplay (Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope)
  • BAFTA Award : Best Adapted Screenplay (Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope)

Further nominations

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of release for Philomena . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , January 2014 (PDF; test number: 142 716 K).
  2. ^ Age rating for Philomena . Youth Media Commission .
  3. ^ Half-time in Venice: "Philomena", the crowd favorite. In: mediabiz.de. September 2, 2013, accessed on December 27, 2018 (access only for Mediabiz users).
  4. ↑ Claudia Puig: Warm, sobering 'Philomena' is a powerful yarn. In: eu.usatoday.com. November 21, 2013, accessed on December 27, 2018 (translation from moviepilot.de).
  5. ^ Sonja Hartl: Review: Philomena - 2014. In: spielfilm.de. Retrieved December 27, 2018 .