Gespenster (2005 film)
Encyclopedia
Gespenster is a 2005 German film directed by Christian Petzold
. Petzold also cowrote the screenplay with Harun Farocki
. The film was presented at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival
, where it was officially entered into competition.
They meet Françoise, who has recently been released from a mental hospital in Berlin and now wanders the city aimlessly. Unable to give up the hope of finding her daughter, Marie, who was abducted many years ago, she is also arrested by the past. Françoise believes she recognizes Nina as her daughter. Her husband, Pierre, tries patiently to convince her to return with him to France.
When Nina is abandoned by Toni after a party she goes looking for the place where she had encountered Françoise. She hopes that she finally might have found a real mother. Although Françoise is there, at the film’s end Nina is left bitterly disappointed.
(Daniel Kothenschulte, Frankfurter Rundschau
, 15. September 2005).
The most significant meaning is conveyed through camera work. The film was shot using natural light and made use of the Steadicam
, by which the viewer becomes, like in Gus Van Sant
’s Elephant, not a silent observer of the film, but rather a silent observer within it. For financial reasons however the director also had to work extensively with rails
. The film remains at a distance from its subject. There is a sense of obligation to a reduction whereby the film’s formal aspects trump the emotional content. The camera follows the protagonists, watches their behavior over the shoulders, both as they speak with and when they lose one another.
Christian Petzold (director)
- Biography :Raised in Haan, after his high-school graduation in 1979 he fulfilled his military civil service in a small cineclub of local YMCA...
. Petzold also cowrote the screenplay with Harun Farocki
Harun Farocki
Harun Farocki is a German filmmaker.He has made over 90 films, the vast majority of them short experimental documentaries...
. The film was presented at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
, where it was officially entered into competition.
Plot
The film portrays a day, a night and the following day in the life of a teenage orphan, Nina, who lives in a group home. Nina is shy, introverted and lives only in the past, which she tries to fabricate in her diary. She meets Toni, a young woman living on the street who is her exact opposite: she concerns herself only with surviving the present moment.They meet Françoise, who has recently been released from a mental hospital in Berlin and now wanders the city aimlessly. Unable to give up the hope of finding her daughter, Marie, who was abducted many years ago, she is also arrested by the past. Françoise believes she recognizes Nina as her daughter. Her husband, Pierre, tries patiently to convince her to return with him to France.
When Nina is abandoned by Toni after a party she goes looking for the place where she had encountered Françoise. She hopes that she finally might have found a real mother. Although Françoise is there, at the film’s end Nina is left bitterly disappointed.
Form and content
The film stresses form before content. The events and people it depicts exist as an almost arbitrary means; they could be replaced by others without great effect. The focus of the film is guided by its underlying intent, that is, to show the rootless, ghostly nature of the characters. The film’s production style and the film's meaning – connecting fairy tale worlds and legends, dreams and reality – melt into one another to create a work of film art which is rich in symbols, whereby Petzold consciously avoids psychologizing his characters. In doing so he leaves the viewer with “ein bleibendes Nachbild”, or a permanent afterimageAfterimage
An afterimage or ghost image or image burn-in is an optical illusion that refers to an image continuing to appear in one's vision after the exposure to the original image has ceased...
(Daniel Kothenschulte, Frankfurter Rundschau
Frankfurter Rundschau
The Frankfurter Rundschau is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. It is published every day but Sunday as a city, two regional and one nationwide issues and offers an online edition as well as an e-paper...
, 15. September 2005).
The most significant meaning is conveyed through camera work. The film was shot using natural light and made use of the Steadicam
Steadicam
A Steadicam is a stabilizing mount for a motion picture camera that mechanically isolates it from the operator's movement, allowing a smooth shot even when moving quickly over an uneven surface...
, by which the viewer becomes, like in Gus Van Sant
Gus Van Sant
Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. is an American director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician, and author. He is a two time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director for his 1997 film Good Will Hunting and his 2008 film Milk, both of which were also nominated for Best Picture, and won the...
’s Elephant, not a silent observer of the film, but rather a silent observer within it. For financial reasons however the director also had to work extensively with rails
Camera dolly
A camera dolly is a specialized piece of filmmaking and television production equipment designed to create smooth camera movements . The camera is mounted to the dolly and the camera operator and focus puller or camera assistant, usually ride on the dolly to operate the camera...
. The film remains at a distance from its subject. There is a sense of obligation to a reduction whereby the film’s formal aspects trump the emotional content. The camera follows the protagonists, watches their behavior over the shoulders, both as they speak with and when they lose one another.
Cast
- Nina: Julia Hummer
- Toni: Sabine Timoteo
- Françoise: Marianne Basler
- Pierre: Aurélien Recoing
- Oliver: Benno FürmannBenno FürmannBenjamin "Benno" Fürmann is a German film and television actor.-Life and work:Fürmann was born in Berlin-Kreuzberg. By the age of 15 he had lost both his parents. At 17, he had a serious accident while train surfing, and had to spend six weeks in the hospital as a result...
- Kai: Anna Schudt
Crew
- Director: Christian Petzold
- Screenplay: Christian Petzold, Harun Farocki
- Production: Florian Koerner von Gustorf, Michael Weber, ARTE
- Music: Stefan Will, Marco Dreckkötter
- Camera: Hans Fromm
- Editing: Bettina Böhler
External links
- Offizieller Internetauftritt des Films
- Filmportal.de
- Roter Teppich und Pressekonferenz zum Film mit Christian Petzold, Julia Hummer, Sabine Timoteo und Aurélien Recoing, Berlinale-Archiv
- Gesammelte Pressekritiken auf film-zeit.de
- Interview mit Christian Petzold: „Mit geschlossenen Augen hören“, taz, 15. Februar 2005
- Interview mit Christian Petzold auf filmtext.com: „Mädchen im Schwebezustand“
- Jens Hinrichsen auf film-dienst: „Im Zwischenreich. Christian Petzolds Gespenster-Trilogie: Passagen in Schattenzonen deutscher Realität“