32° TORINO FILM FESTIVAL
FESTA MOBILE/TORINO MEETS BERLINO

DIPLOMATIE

DIPLOMACY
by Volker Schlöndorff
Country: France, Germany
Year: 2014
Duration: 85'


On August 25th, 1944, the allies enter Paris. Shortly before dawn, the German general Dietrich von Choltiz, the military governor of the city, prepares to follow Hitler’s orders and destroy the city. Bridges and monuments have been mined and are ready to explode. And yet the catastrophe doesn’t occur. Why did von Choltiz refuse to follow the Führer’s orders, despite his loyalty to the Third Reich?

Biography

film director

Volker Schlöndorff

Volker Schlöndorff (Wiesbaden, Germany, 1939) moved to France in 1956 and worked as assistant director to Louis Malle, Jean-Pierre Melville and Alain Resnais; his 1965 film Young Torless marked the first international success for New German Cinema and won the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes. The Tin Drum, based on the novel of the same title by Günter Grass, won the 1979 Palme d’or in Cannes and an Oscar. Many of his movies participated to the most important film festivals around the world: among them, The Ogre was presented in Venice, and won the UNICEF Prize. He has also directed theatre and opera productions, including works by Janácek and Henze. 

FILMOGRAFIA

Der junge Törless (I turbamenti del giovane Torless, 1965), Mord und Todschlag (Vivi ma non uccidere, 1966), Michael Kohlhaas - Der Rebell (La spietata legge del ribelle, 1969), Baal (id., tv, 1970), Die Moral der Ruth Halbfass (La morale di Ruth Halbfass, 1972) Strohfeuer (Fuoco di paglia, 1975), Die Blechtrommel (Il tamburo di latta, 1980), Die Fälschung (L’inganno, 1982), The Handmaid’s Tale (Il racconto dell’ancella, 1990), Der Unhold (L’orco, 1996), Die Stille nach dem Schuss (Il silenzio dopo lo sparo, 2000), Ten Minutes Older: The Cello (ep. The Enlightenment, id., cm, 2004), Ulzhan (2007), La mer à l’aube (2011), Diplomatie (2014).


Jean-Daniel Pollet, Volker Schlöndorff:
Méditerranée (mm, 1963).

Declaration

film director

“The two protagonists take each other on warily, as though they were chess players. Or better, as though they were boxers about to go five or six rounds with each other. Each contestant carefully prepares the next blow, without ever managing a knock-out. I divided the screenplay into various musical moments: first, an introduction with an andante, during which the two characters take each other’s measure, trying to understand how the other will react; then, more pressing moments that alternate with less intense rhythms.”

Cast

& Credits

regia/director
Volker Schlöndorff
soggetto/story
dall’opera teatrale/from the play Diplomatie di/by Cyril Gely
sceneggiatura/screenplay
Volker Schlöndorff, Cyril Gely
fotografia/cinematography
Michel Amathieu
montaggio/film editing
Virginie Bruant
scenografia/production design
Jacques Rouxel
costumi/costume design
Mirjam Muschel
suono/sound
Philippe Garnier, Andre Zacher, Olivier Do Huu
interpreti e personaggi/cast and characters
Andre Dussollier (Raoul Nordling), Niels Arestrup (gen. Dietrich von Choltiz), Burghart Klaussner (cap./cpt. Ebernach), Robert Stadlober (ten./lt. Bressensdorf), Jean-Marc Roulot (Jacques Lanvin), Stefan Wilkening (c.le/cpl. Mayer), Thomas Arnold (ten./lt. Hegger), Lucas Prissor (l’ufficiale delle SS/SS official)
produttori/producers
Marc De Bayser, Frank Le Wita
produzione/production
Film Oblige, Gaumont
coproduttori/coproducers
Amelie Latscha, Felix Moeller
coproduzione/coproduction
Blueprint Films, ARTE France Cinema, WDR, SWR
distribuzione/distribution
Academy Two
contatti/contacts
Academy 2
Beatrice Gulino
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