Spider's Web (1989 film)
Spider's Web | |
---|---|
Directed by | Bernhard Wicki |
Written by | Wolfgang Kirchner Joseph Roth Bernhard Wicki |
Produced by | Peter Hahne |
Starring | Ulrich Mühe |
Cinematography | Gérard Vandenberg |
Edited by | Tanja Schmidbauer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 196 minutes |
Country | West Germany |
Language | German |
Spider's Web (
The film was also entered into the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.[2]
Plot
The film centers on young right-wing Leutnant (lieutenant) Theodor Lohse (
Lohse becomes a full-time spy for the organization, and with unprecedented, relentless opportunism and unscrupulousness he spies in on Communist plots, partakes in the organization's plans to undermine the new German democracy, and disposes of his own right-wing colleagues when he sees fit, all of which to serve his own plans of rising to the top within right-wing circles. During these activities he comes in contact with Benjamin Lenz (Klaus Maria Brandauer), a Jewish man dealing in information on all kinds of criminal and underground political proceedings who will always sell at the highest price, be it paid by left or right-wing conspirators or the police. In spite of Lohse's hatred of Jews, he finds Lenz's services useful, but soon finds himself at his mercy as Lenz through their collaboration finds out more and more about Lohse's schemes and spy activities.
When Lenz learns that Lohse ordered a pogrom of the local Jewish ghetto, he confronts the rather short and slim-built Lohse in private, beating him close to senselessness and almost forces Lohse to commit suicide by jumping out of a window, until he realizes that killing Lohse would not make him any better than the anti-Semite that had ordered the violence in the ghetto. Lohse then has his henchmen murder Lenz, also because he knew too much, by pushing him in front of an approaching train. The film ends in late 1923 with Lohse leaving a festivity of conservatives and monarchists, declaring that restoring the monarchy has by now become "old hat", and with glowing eyes he mentions a "new man" preparing a putsch in Munich to count on - a man named Adolf Hitler.
Cast
- Ulrich Mühe - Theodor Lohse
- Klaus Maria Brandauer - Benjamin Lenz
- Armin Mueller-Stahl - Baron von Rastchuk
- Andrea Jonasson - Rahel Efrussi
- Corinna Kirchhoff - Else von Schlieffen
- Elisabeth Endriss - Anna
- Ullrich Haupt- Baron von Köckwitz
- Agnes Fink - Mutter Lohse
- András Fricsay Kali Son- Klitsche
- Ernst Stötzner - Günter
- Peter Roggisch - Prince Heinrich
- Rolf Henniger - Aaron Efrussi
- Hans Korte - Geheimrat Hugenberg
- Kyra Mladeck - Frau von Köckwitz
- Hark Bohm - Dada-artist
See also
- List of submissions to the 62nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of German submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- ^ H. G. Pflaum. "On the history of the German candidates for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film". German Films. Archived from the original on 2009-05-09. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Spider's Web". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
External links
- Spider's Web at IMDb
- Spider's Web at Rotten Tomatoes