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| WONDER WOLVES: In Berlin 1948, Ralf (Maximilian Werner), Silke (Nina Gummich) Jakob (Neel Fehler), Lotte (Henriette Confurius) Bernd (Vincent Redetzki) and Kurt (Philip Wiegratz) form The Wolves in the telemovie The Wolves of Berlin (Die Wölfe). Image: ZDF / Claudia Terjung. |
Powerful
Pact
by Linh
The Wolves
of Berlin (Die Wölfe) is
a three part telemovie that screened in Germany in 2009 as part of the
twentieth anniversary of the destruction of the Berlin Wall. The telemovie
depicts the lives, tribulations and loves of six young people during 1948, 1961
and 1989. These three years bear historical significance to Germany’s political
and social changes, and the six teenagers’ opinions, influences and attitudes
become shaped by the events that occur during these years.
Director and screenwriter Friedemann Fromm has used black
and white archival footage from the three years firstly as a backdrop to the
personal dramas of the characters’ lives, blending the monochrome of the past
with the colour of the present. Gradually as the teens mature throughout the
years, he intertwines news footage and media coverage to directly impact on all
six lives.
Part one of The Wolves
of Berlin (Die Wölfe), titled Nothing Can Separate Us, opens with the
six friends now aged in their fifties and attending the wedding of their
children. There is tension between two of the friends and it leads to a lengthy
flashback sequence beginning with the six friends as teenagers in Berlin. The
six teenagers, who all live in Berlin, form a lifetime friendship pact named
The Wolves. The film’s title is their slogan “Nothing can separate us. Not even
Death” and comes from the poster of a film which was screening in their local
theatre in 1948.
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FRIENDS
FOREVER: Kurt (Philip Wiegratz), Ralf (Maximilian Werner), Bernd
(Vincent Redetzki) and Silke (Nina Gummich) reaffirm their eternal friendship
in the telemovie The Wolves of Berlin
(Die Wölfe). Image: ZDF / Claudia
Terjung.
|
The Wolves consists of Bernd, Kurt, Jakob, Lotte, Silke
and Ralph. Bernd lives with his mother, and has wild and ambitious plans to
open his own bar and shout his friends free beer every night. His good friend,
the tubby and affable Kurt, who lives with his mother and war veteran father,
is keen to help Bernd and becomes the glue that keeps everyone together in The
Wolves. In the same neighbourhood, flirtatious and politically active Silke
also becomes part of the pact. Lotte, an aspiring singer and her younger
brother Ralf also join, despite Lotte already dating a boy from a rival group.
Jakob, a Jewish boy who survived the trauma of the concentration camps is the
last to join, and Bernd is instantly suspicious of him as he and Jakob compete
for Lotte’s attention.
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BROTHERLY
BONDS: Bernd (Vincent Redetzki) lets Jakob (Neel Fehler) join
The Wolves despite disliking him in the telemovie The Wolves of Berlin (Die
Wölfe). Image: ZDF / Claudia Terjung.
|
Set in 1948 Berlin, the country is divided into four
sectors, Russian, British, French and American. The sectors are cut off by
blockades and barb wires, and strict curfews and blackouts are enforced as a
means of controlling movement of people within and outside the sectors. The
Wolves are cunning and find ways to move freely without being noticed, and one
scene shows Lotte smuggling in supplies from one sector to the next.
The Berlin Airlifts also features in the film, where Ralf
keenly observes and looks out through his binoculars for US aeroplanes that
drop supplies for the people of Berlin. Ralf and the rest of The Wolves then
scramble as fast as they can to get as much as they could carry before the
soldiers catch them.
The currency reform in 1948 further divided Berlin, with
two different currencies in two different zones. Bernd, Kurt and Silke found
creative ways to make money, through bartering, exchanging or seduction. Jakob
is a clever pick-pocket with a quick hand and sly smile, Lotte attempts to sing
for her supper and young Ralf is a talented little Mr. Fix-it.
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SCAVENGING
SUPPLIES: Bernd (Vincent Redetzki) and Jakob (Neel Fehler) risk
their lives while grabbing food from the downed airlift planes in the telemovie
The Wolves of Berlin (Die Wölfe). Image: ZDF / Claudia
Terjung.
|
The young cast is engaging and convincing with Vincent
Redetzki who is wonderful as the head of The Wolves with a strong killer
instinct; Philip Wiegratz, who is best remembered as the always-hungry Augustus
Gloop in Tim Burton’s film adaptation Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory is comical as the tubby Kurt; Henriette Confurius
is gorgeous and has a lovely singing voice as the aspiring singer Lotte; Neel
Fehler gives his character, Jakob, a silent and powerful inner strength and
Nina Gummich is delightfully playful as the intelligent and feisty Silke.
As Berlin continues to be carved up by political reforms
and suffering from economic decline, The Wolves do everything they can to stay
together, defending themselves against rival gangs, resisting the influence of
Socialism and the repression of Communism, protecting and supporting each
other.
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BARBED-WIRE
BORDER: Soldiers guarding the borders in the telemovie The Wolves of Berlin (Die Wölfe). Image: ZDF / Claudia
Terjung.
|
Director:
Friedemann Fromm
Writers:
Friedemann Fromm (screenplay), Christoph Fromm (screenplay)
Cast:
Vincent Redetzki, Philip Wiegratz , Neel Fehler, Henriette Confurius, Nina
Gummich, Maximilian Werner, Florian Panzner, Daniel White, Sven Lehmann, Martin
Klemrath , Christian Kerepeszki, Angelika Gersdorf, Kai Holzapfel
Producers:
Regina Ziegler, Marianna Rowinska
Original
Music Composer: Edward J. Harris
Cinematographer:
Hanno Lentz
Languages:
German with English subtitles and English
Running
Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
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