Sources of life
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Sources of life |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 2013 |
| length | 173 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Oskar Roehler |
| script | Oskar Roehler |
| production | Stefan Arndt , Uwe Schott , Oliver Berben |
| music | Martin Todsharow |
| camera | Carl-Friedrich Koschnick |
| cut | Peter R. Adam |
| occupation | |
| |
Sources of Life is a German feature film by Oskar Roehler . The film was first seen on February 5, 2013 in Berlin, and was released in German cinemas on February 14, 2013. The free TV premiere took place on July 19, 2014 in the first .
action
The plot spans the story of grandfather Erich Freytag, his son Klaus and grandson Robert from the early post-war period until the 1980s.
The grandfather returns home from a Soviet captivity, still wearing the Wehrmacht coat. He no longer has his teeth, they have remained in captivity. He finds his wife's missing person report on the bulletin board. He finally finds her current residence, but she and his sister are anything but happy to see him. It wasn't until later that evening that Erich decided to go into the apartment. His family is dismissive, only his eldest son Klaus complies with his request for a drink. After he choked on the water and had stomach problems, his family laughed at him to pieces. He thanks for the hospitality and disappears outside on the bench. His sister and wife have a lesbian relationship and are therefore not happy that Erich is back. The next morning Klaus brings his father a mug of coffee and then leads him to the shower barrack. Erich then wears civilian clothing and has disposed of the worn army coat. While visiting a factory with Klaus, he meets an old friend who gives him replacement teeth; now he can eat normally again.
Erich puts his sister in front of the door. The woman packs her bags at night and disappears. Elisabeth lies in bed next to Erich. The sound of the front door makes her startle and runs after Marie. They fall around their necks and kiss. Elisabeth announces that she will leave Erich. In the meantime, Erich has remained calm in bed.
The next day, Erich and Klaus go to the factory hall and announce to a dozen women that they can earn good money for honest work. Erich and his son set up a garden gnome factory . Elisabeth returns, but explains to Erich that he has no chance and that Marie is the only person in her life who has made her feel that she is alive. Erich just replies soberly that he understood.
The garden gnomes initially pile up in the factory halls, but soon the Freytags can no longer save themselves from customers. Her garden gnomes will soon be adorning all the front gardens in Lower Franconia.
At the “100,000th garden gnome” celebration, the mayor personally thanks Erich for his services. In return, Erich presents him with the first garden gnome. After the party, Erich and Klaus return home and find a note that Elisabeth has moved in with Marie. Outside, one of the factory workers calls for the mayor and that he wants the first garden gnome back. Klaus calls out to be quiet, it is the middle of the night. However, he goes out to him and together they go to the mayor.
Then you see a single garden gnome and a woman with blond hair who is dressed in SS uniform. It's Marie and the garden gnome is Erich. Marie pulls the red cap over his eyes, nose and finally his mouth to suffocate him.
Suddenly Erich wakes up, everything was just a dream. But Erich has suffered a heart attack. His son takes care of him, feeds him soup. As he sits pensively in the kitchen, Elisabeth comes back. She asks him if his father has already left, he tells her that he has had a heart attack.
The story starts again when Klaus is a grown man, he is at a student party. He is bored, but then he sees a woman provocative for him. She comes up to him and asks for a cigarette. She tells him quite openly that she is a chain smoker. He rolls her a cigarette. Then her evening companion comes back and he doesn't see her again until later.
Gisela and Klaus are out and about in town. She got the idea to steal oranges. Klaus is dope. They eventually walk down the street and Gisela drops most of the oranges. Klaus picks them up, they kiss.
Gisela visits Klaus' father's company. She wears a very fancy dress. You are in the storage room with shelves full of garden gnomes. She asks what he would do if she tossed the board with the dwarfs. He replies that he will slap her in the face. She tilts the board and the garden gnomes fall to the ground and break. Klaus throws her on the ground on the straw and exposes her abdomen. He also frees himself from his clothes.
Gisela's parents are far from happy that their daughter has been deflowered. They ask their daughter to indicate that Klaus knew that she was a minor. Gisela is pregnant and tries to raise the money for an abortion as a prostitute. But then Klaus comes by and slaps her, explaining that he will ask for her hand and that she will have the child. They move into an apartment together.
The third storyline begins. Robert, the first-person narrator, is born. His parents quarrel, his mother refuses to breastfeed and diaper him. His father doesn't see it, but his mother doesn't care, she just slams the door.
(This plot description covers roughly the first half of the film and was obviously not continued by the writer.)
background
The film was produced by Berlin-based X Films Creative Pool GmbH; the production costs were 9 million euros. The shooting took place from August 1st to November 11th 2011.
reception
“It would be absurd to assume that in these almost three hours that the 'Sources of Life' lasts, everything is flawless. But neither is there the slightest doubt that Oskar Roehler succeeded in doing something special that you absolutely have to see - if you are interested in how this country became what it is; how the 68ers rebelled against their parents with every right, in order to often play a pitiful role as parents; and how someone escaped from it to tell about it. "
“It is irritating - and that is also one of the advantages of this film - that Roehler does not demand any pity for himself in any of this, but he also has no indulgence for his characters. It is a big arc that Roehler wants to strike, from the late forties to the eighties, and a lot of it seems rough and awkward, too brief and superficial. "
“The autobiographical retro look at post-war Germany, the economic miracle and garden gnomes, rebellion, punk and West Berlin, all of this would provide enough material for many exciting films, at least enough for the nearly three hours of sources of life. It's just a zero-sum game: the stories cancel each other out in the most bizarre way: emphatic childhood trauma versus the punk phase, melodramatic love story versus bitter description of the milieu. At least it fits very well that Roehler made a film about the children of the failed excess. "
“Time and again, Roehler, the master of eruptive storytelling, succeeds in creating scenes of wonderful poetic power: childhood flows by in the Franconian province like in a dream: splashing garden hoses dance, garage walls are bricked up, molehills are blown up. [...] And then the engine of the narrative stalls again enormously, the three hours become long. Going all out, that can't mean telling the whole story. "
Versions
There are two different versions of the feature film. On the one hand the approx. 173 minutes long TV version and a cut DVD version (approx. 166 min).
Awards
Sources of Life was nominated for the German Film Prize in three categories in 2013:
- Best full-length feature film
- Best acting performance - female supporting role : Margarita Broich
- Best makeup : Jeannette Latzelsberger, Gregor Eckstein, Elke Lebender, Stephanie Däbritz, Julia Rinkl
In the same year (official census 2014), film composer Martin Todsharow won the German Film Critics' Prize , while Quellen des Lebens was nominated for best feature film. In 2014 Leonard Scheicher received a nomination for the New Faces Award as best young actor for his portrayal of Robert between the ages of 13 and 17 .
The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating particularly valuable.
Web links
- Sources of life in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Sources of life. A German family story. X Verleih AG, archived from the original on April 2, 2013 ; accessed on November 25, 2016 (official site for the film).
Individual evidence
- ^ Certificate of Release for Sources of Life . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , November 2012 (PDF; test number: 136 022 K).
- ↑ Annika Schönstädt: His source of life. (No longer available online.) Berliner Morgenpost , February 6, 2013, archived from the original on March 10, 2016 ; accessed on July 18, 2014 : "Oskar Roehler celebrates the film premiere of his autobiography in the Delphi Filmpalast" Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Peter Körte: Oskar Roehler's 'Sources of Life'. He will be missing from the Berlinale. FAZ, February 5, 2013, accessed on August 15, 2016 : "From February 14th in the cinema"
- ^ A b Barbara Schweizerhof: Roehler's captivating embarrassments. the daily newspaper, February 13, 2013, accessed on August 15, 2016 .
- ^ Sources of life at crew united
- ↑ Frédéric Jaeger: Sources of Life. critic.de, January 23, 2013, accessed August 15, 2016 .
- ↑ Moritz von Uslar: From the full scooped. Die Zeit, February 14, 2013, accessed on August 15, 2016 : "Exuberant 'sources of life': Oskar Roehler filmed his autobiography."
