Quartet with Claudia
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Quartet with Claudia |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1981 |
| length | 80 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Michael Kehlmann |
| script | Leo Lehman (Translation: Hubert von Becholtsheim, Marianne de Barde) |
| production | Peter Eckold (production manager) , K.-H. Tischendorf (production management) , Werner Sommer (production) |
| camera | Justus Pankau |
| cut | Christa Kemnitz |
| occupation | |
| |
Quartett bei Claudia is a German television film directed by Michael Kehlmann from 1981.
action
The London friends Claudia, Robert, Miriam and Dr. Bartman meet every Thursday at Claudia's house for a house music evening. When Dr. Bartman fails once, Robert's friend John adds to the string quartet . John and Miriam are sympathetic, the next day he invites them to a visit to the zoo, they talk for a long time and begin to fall in love. However, both are married and have children. Miriam tells John that despite her wealth, family and fulfilling job, she sometimes suddenly starts crying for no apparent reason.
Her friends Claudia and Robert, who have had an affair with each other for years (Robert is married), advise John and Miriam against getting involved in an affair as well. When John has to travel to Norfolk on business , Miriam finds an excuse to come with him and spend a few days with him.
John's wife Pat, whose relationship with her husband is rather cool anyway, suspects something of the affair. Miriam's husband Gabriel also noticed that his wife was upset. He asks her to skip the house music evening the next Thursday and to join him to a party. She agrees, but meets with John briefly that night. She tells him about a holiday home on a Greek island that a friend gives her and that she plans to travel to in the next few days. She doesn't dare to ask John directly to travel to Greece with her, and John doesn't respond to her suggestions. Later she calls Claudia from the party, but she doesn't have time to accompany her either, so she travels alone.
John talks to Robert about Miriam and says he doesn't want to have a relationship with Miriam out of a sense of responsibility, because he knows it would end badly. In general, he thinks that relationships between people should rather remain on the surface - like those between himself and his wife.
Suddenly the friends received the news of Miriam's death: She took a boat from the island to sea, the boat capsized and she drowned. Claudia, John and Robert discuss the possibility of suicide: In retrospect, the last conversation with John and the phone call with Claudia appear as last calls for help. A flashback to John and Miriam's time in Norfolk confirms this: They are in bed and Miriam says she cannot live without him. John: “You mustn't say that, Miri. Never. "Miriam:" Forgive me. I won't say it again. "
The quartet plays together one last time with a neighbor to replace Miriam before they break up.
production
The film was produced by Süddeutscher Rundfunk and broadcast for the first time on January 14, 1981 on ARD .