Linh2010 German Film Festival;The Wolves of Berlin (Die Wölfe): Nothing Can Separate Us, review
May 11th 2010 11:22
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 miniseries The Wolves of Berlin (Die Wölfe). Image: ZDF / Claudia Terjung.
The Wolves of Berlin (Die Wölfe) is a three part miniseries that screened in Germany in 2009 as part of the twentieth anniversary of the destruction of the Berlin Wall. The mini-series 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 flackback 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.
FRIENDS FOREVER: Kurt (Philip Wiegratz), Ralf (Maximilian Werner), Bernd (Vincent Redetzki) and Silke (Nina Gummich) reaffirm their eternal friendship in the miniseries 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.
BROTHERLY BONDS: Bernd (Vincent Redetzki) lets Jakob (Neel Fehler) join The Wolves despite disliking him in the miniseries 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.
SCAVENGING SUPPLIES: Bernd (Vincent Redetzki) and Jakob (Neel Fehler) risk their lives while grabbing food from the downed airlift planes in the miniseries 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 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.
BARBED-WIRE BORDER: Soldiers guarding the borders in the miniseries The Wolves of Berlin (Die Wölfe). Image: ZDF / Claudia Terjung.
Director: Friedemann Fromm
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
Screenplay: Friedemann Fromm, Christoph Fromm
Producers: Regina Ziegler, Marianna Rowinska
Original Music: Edward J. Harris
Cinematography: Hanno Lentz
Language: German with English subtitles and English
Running Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
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