Self-experiment (film)
Selbstversuch is commissioned by the television of the GDR produced feature film of the DEFA of Peter Vogel in 1990 after the story by Christa Wolf from the year 1972nd
action
Johanna has successfully completed her scientific studies. While still a student, she heard about the intended attempts by her professor to turn women into men through sex reassignment. Since she is in love with him and also interested in the topic, she applies to his institute for human hormones and is really hired there. In her private life Johanna has an aversion to chauvinistic men; Nevertheless, she gets involved in a relationship with her colleague Bertram, but this does not prevent her from applying as a test subject for the first sex reassignment. She gets an insight into the ongoing series of animal experiments on monkeys, which she also takes care of. Nevertheless, the desire to take part in the experiment is strengthened in her.
In a dangerous self- experiment, Johanna has the agent Petersein masculinum 199 injected, which transforms her into a man. The attempt has a positive outcome, she or now "he" receives new papers in the name of Johann Anders. However, the process of transformation is contradicting itself, because he cannot completely suppress his female memories, although he likes his appearance as a man. This is one of the reasons why he is slowly getting used to the new life. Johann has to endure tests every day and also keep a tape record of his feelings and sensations. On the 29th day of his life as a man, he had a decisive experience. He gets to know a young woman, invites her to an ice cream in a café and, when asked, goes with her. In front of her house he recognizes that his professor lives here. When they both arrive at the apartment, he realizes that it actually belongs to the boss and that the young woman is his daughter. During a conversation at the coffee table with the family, Johann realizes that the experiment is barbaric nonsense and decides to end it immediately in order to be able to live as a woman again in the future.
production
Self- experiment was filmed on ORWO -Color and was first broadcast on January 21, 1990 on the first program of East German television . A preview took place on January 9, 1990 in the Konrad Wolf Hall of the Academy of Arts of the GDR in Berlin . The film was broadcast on ZDF on May 13, 1990. The dramaturgy of the film was in the hands of Alfried Nehring , the scenario was developed jointly by Eberhard Görner and Peter Vogel. The story of the same name by Christa Wolf was published in 1974 in the prose volume “Unter den Linden” published by Aufbau-Verlag .
criticism
Klaus M. Fiedler found in the NeueZeit that the film was difficult to understand for the viewer. With his cool figure drawing, he took too much for granted. No identification could take place because some attitudes and actions appeared unmotivated.
For Christel Berger from the Berliner Zeitung , Johanna Schall, as the main actress, excellently demonstrated the wide range of options available. In her opinion, the men involved were very limited compared to Ms. Schall and also to actress Katrin Klein.
The lexicon of international films feels that this television film deals with moral questions of science in a chamber play style.
Web links
- Self-experiment in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Self- experiment at filmportal.de
- Self- experiment in the online dictionary of GDR television
- Self- experiment television preview in Zeit-Online on May 11, 1990
Individual evidence
- ^ New Germany of January 11, 1990
- ↑ Berliner Zeitung of May 10, 1990, p. 13
- ↑ Neues Deutschland from January 23, 1990, p. 4
- ↑ Neue Zeit on January 23, p. 4
- ↑ Berliner Zeitung on January 23, 1990, p. 7
- ↑ self- experiment . In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .