Welcome to the Honeckers

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Movie
Original title Welcome to the Honeckers
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 2017
length 90 minutes
Rod
Director Philipp Leinemann
script Matthias lease
production Magic Flight Film GmbH on behalf of ARD Degeto
music Sebastian Fillenberg
camera Christian Stangassinger
cut Nils Landmark
occupation

Willkommen bei den Honeckers is a German television film by Philipp Leinemann from 2017 with Maximilian Meyer-Bretschneider and Martin Brambach in the leading roles.

action

The waiter Johann Rummel from Frankfurt (Oder) , who wants to become a journalist shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall , uses every opportunity to get in touch with prominent people, because otherwise he does not expect a chance with the press. One of his first "victims" is the singer Heino , whom he visits in his hotel room and gets a photo with him. But that's not enough for the journalistic breakthrough, but the editor, whom Johann has contacted, expects something spectacular. As reports of Erich Honecker and his flight to Moscow, where he found refuge in the Chilean embassy, ​​appear in the media at the moment , Johann decides to write a letter to the former head of state of the GDR. In response, he receives a kind of autograph card with a personal dedication. This makes a little impression on the editor, but he simply expects more. So Johann sees his chance come when Honecker is transferred back to Berlin from Russia. In order to get in personal contact with Honecker, he again wrote him a passionate and communist letter. He claims to have founded the Union of Young Communists and to have Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler as an advisor. That seems to convince Honecker and this time he replies not just with a photo, but with a very personal letter. Johann's commitment and (hypocritical) hymns of praise for Honecker not only lead to a conflict with his girlfriend Jenny at times, his friend Maik also feels more and more neglected. Maik's camera also broke when Johann persuaded him to try to take a picture of Honecker. Although everything has just gone wrong, Johann does not give up. He writes another letter to Honecker, who has since gone into exile in Chile. He continues to pretend to be a convinced young communist who is said to have a growing crowd of like-minded people behind him and who wants nothing more than to get to know Honecker personally. To make that happen, Johann somehow has to travel to Chile. He can get the money for the trip from press man Jochen Trommler, who is hoping for "the story" from him. Johann's tenacity and ingenuity not only bring him to Chile, but also a future traineeship at the newspaper, for which he is now researching.

When he arrived in Chile, Johann first took a hotel room and designed his next steps. On the same day he was brought to Honecker's domicile and entered the property with a bouquet of red carnations. Margot Honecker greets him at the front door and doesn't really want to let him into the house. But her husband greets Johann very happily. Margot remains suspicious, however. She tries to protect her Erich, who is visibly ailing. But she notices how good it is for him to forge plans with such a convinced young communist. Honecker does not want to allow a photo, but Johann absolutely needs it. So he asks to be allowed to come back the next day. But even now, Honecker still does not want to allow photos. It wasn't until the next day that Johann's persistence was successful, and since he only had a small camera with him and no professional camera, the Honeckers initially had no suspicions. The fraud is revealed much too late after a phone call, but Johann is able to escape in time with photos of the former head of state. Back in Germany, he presented his story to Jochen Trommler, which appeared on the front page the very next day: "At home with Erich Honecker - this is how the fallen GDR dictator lives in Chile."

background

The film is based on the true story of the picture reporter Mark Pittelkau, who, as an alleged young communist, sneaked the Honeckers' trust and published a homestory about their life in exile in Chile in 1993. Pittelkau is not mentioned by name in the film, but the end credits show photos of his encounter with the real Honecker, mixed with footage from the film.

Welcome to the Honeckers was produced by Magic Flight Film GmbH on behalf of ARD Degeto and first broadcast on the 3rd of October 2017 (the 27th anniversary of German reunification ) in prime time on Das Erste .

criticism

Thomas Gehringer from tittelbach.tv said: “The entertaining absurdity of the plot and the convincingly sketched time image outweigh any doubts as to whether a lurid boulevard series really has to be 'celebrated' as a prime-time television film. Also worth seeing: the ensemble, which is prominent right down to the supporting roles, led by the brilliant Brambach as Honecker. "

The critics of the TV magazine TV Spielfilm gave the best rating (thumbs up) and judged: "Director Philipp Leinemann not only stages the incident as a mischievous crook, but also shows how hollow the goal, a trophy photo, actually is. A real discovery is the main actor Max Bretschneider, who personalized the positive atmosphere of optimism after the fall of the Berlin Wall - and at the same time shows how close determination and unscrupulousness can be. "

Heike Hupertz from the FAZ wrote: "'Willkommen bei den Honeckers' tells the questionable genesis of the story as a slightly satirical rogue piece." The film conveys a little, however, "a remarkable portrayal of the turning point in the East."

The Frankfurter Neue Presse assessed: “It is [...] quite a lot that Matthias Pacht (screenplay) and Philipp Leinemann (director) had to bring under one roof: for example, convincing character portraits, dealing with the history of the GDR combined with a correct presentation of history. And that combined with some delicate questions, here attached to Rummel himself, who also has reason to hate Honecker: How far can self-denial for the sake of a career go? "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Joachim Huber: The GDR is alive. Der Tagesspiegel, October 3, 2017, accessed on December 22, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Thomas Gehringer: Bretschneider, Brambach, Lease, Leinemann. Contemporary rogue at tittelbach.tv , accessed on November 7, 2018.
  3. ^ A budding tabloid reporter got the last interview with Erich Honecker, who lived in exile. at tvspielfilm.de , accessed on November 7, 2018.
  4. ↑ How the sausage bread spoiled at faz.net , accessed on November 7, 2018.
  5. ↑ Welcome to the Honeckers: A particularly fine piece of comedy at fnp.de , accessed on November 7, 2018.