Sophie's decision

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Sophie's decision
Original title Sophie's Choice
Country of production United States
original language English ,
German ,
Polish
Publishing year 1982
length 144 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Alan J. Pakula
script Alan J. Pakula
production Alan J. Pakula,
Keith Barish
music Marvin Hamlisch
camera Néstor Almendros
cut Evan A. Lottman
occupation

Sophie's Choice is an American film drama from the year 1982 . The literary film adaptation is based on the adaptation of the novel of the same name by William Styron .

action

The framework story takes place in New York after the end of the Second World War. Stingo, a 22-year-old writer, is renting the ground floor of a second-class apartment building. On the same day he meets his neighbor, the pretty and enigmatic Sophie. Sophie is a Polish immigrant, former concentration camp inmate and lives on the upper floor of the same house with Nathan. Nathan is an American Jew and obsessed with the Holocaust . A friendship develops between the three of them very quickly, during which Stingo witnesses the destructive relationship between Nathan and Sophie. Stingo, who feels drawn to Sophie, only with difficulty manages to learn something about her Polish origins and her relationship with Nathan. Sophie is warm, friendly and sociable - and yet very distant. Only when they are gradually getting closer does he find out Sophie's secret.

Sophie had been deported to Auschwitz during the Second World War . In a flashback you can see her sitting on the train with her son and daughter. On the way from the train to the barracks, she anxiously holds her children close. A dialogue develops between her and an approaching concentration camp guard, in the course of which she emphasizes her bond with the “ Aryan race” and points out that she is not Jewish. The sadistic guard then gives her the choice of keeping one of her children, but she has to choose one. With the impending loss of both children in mind, Sophie makes a decision: “Take my little girl!” The daughter is then torn from her and taken away. Her son is housed in a separate area in the camp, Sophie herself is employed in the villa of the concentration camp commandant Rudolf Höß because of her language skills . She makes every opportune attempt to track down her son and get him "good treatment"; however, its whereabouts cannot be determined.

After hearing this story, Stingo finally fulfills his long-cherished wish: He spends the following night with Sophie. When he wakes up the next morning, she is gone. He finds a farewell greeting on the bedside table. When he rushes to Nathan and Sophie's apartment, they are both dead and entwined in bed - they have committed suicide with poison. Stingo recites the poem "Ample Make This Bed" by Emily Dickinson . He then moves to South Virginia and finishes his novel.

Film language

The film language is English, but sequences in the concentration camp were shot in German and can be seen in the original with English subtitles. Meryl Streep speaks in the role of Sophie with concentration camp guards and their relatives in German with a Polish accent.

German version

role actor Voice actor
Sophie Zawistowski Meryl Streep Hallgard Bruckhaus
Nathan Landau Kevin Kline Lutz Mackensy
Stingo Peter MacNicol Oliver Rohrbeck
Polish professor Eugene Lipinski Frank Glaubrecht
Rudolf Höss Günther Maria Halmer Günther Maria Halmer
Larry Landau Stephen D. Newman Christian Brückner
Leslie Lapidus Greta Turken Evelyn Marron
librarian John Rothman Wolfgang Condrus
teller Josef Sommer Norbert Langer

Awards

criticism

"A quiet, poetic melodrama that gains depth through the outstanding performance of the leading actress."

- film service 10/1983

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sophie's decision. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on March 2, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Sophie's decision. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used