Die Königin

Since the age of twelve, Werner Schroeter has cherished a deep admiration for Marianne Hoppe, grande dame of the German cinema. Now he has materialised his admiration in Die Königin, a portrait of this living legend.The life of Marianne Hoppe, already past ninety, is not entirely without controversy. From 1936 to 1946 she was married to the actor Gustaf Gründgens and at that time she was an important exponent of Nazi cinema. But that is not what Die Königin is all about. Schroeter allows friends and (ex-) colleagues to sketch a picture of the twentieth-century icon of German drama, both in film and theatre. Schroeter juxtaposes these interviews and encounters with fragments from her most important films – Romanze in Moll, Capriolen, Der Schritt vom Wege and Effi Briest – and shots of her text rehearsals with theatre director Einar Schleef.As in his other productions, such as the award-winning Eika Katappa and Palermo oder Wolfsburg, Schroeter strives for a symbiosis between reduction and pathos. His film is not an exhaustive biography of the legendary actress, but more a dramatic painting of the recalcitrant character of the diva. This time the drama is more to be found in the appearance of the diva herself, for whom every place she goes is instantly turned into a stage, than in the stylised pictures so characteristic of Schroeter.