Reunion (1989)

Two young boys from very different backgrounds become friends in 1933 Stuttgart. However, they don't realize how different they are until much later as one is the son of a well-to-do Jewish... See full summary »

Director:

Jerry Schatzberg

Writers:

Harold Pinter, Fred Uhlman (novel)

Stars:

Jason Robards, Christien Anholt, Samuel West

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Robards	...	Henry Strauss
Christien Anholt	...	Hans Strauss, as a young man
Samuel West	...	Count Konradin von Lohenburg
Françoise Fabian	...	Countess von Lohenburg
Maureen Kerwin	...	Lisa
Dorothea Alexander	...	Old Countess Gertrud
Frank Baker	...	The Zionist
Tim Barker	...	Zimmermann - a teacher
Imke Barnstedt	...	Girl in Tax Building
Gideon Boulting	...	Prince Hubertus
Alan Bowyer	...	Bollacher
Jacques Brunet	...	Count von Lohenburg
Rupert Degas	...	Muller
Robert Dietl	...	Gardener at Old Grafin's
Luc-Antoine Diquéro	...	Young Lover

Storyline

Two young boys from very different backgrounds become friends in 1933 Stuttgart. However, they don't realize how different they are until much later as one is the son of a well-to-do Jewish doctor and the other the son of a German aristocrat. After that summer and the election of Hitler, things change as anti-semitism gains fervor. After the core of the film deals with that era, the film flashes to the present and the Jewish man now returns to his boyhood home and seeks his old friend with some surprises.

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Plot Keywords:

anti semitism | hitlerjugend | friendship between boys | nazi | 1940s | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview made for the French DVD release in 2014, director Jerry Schatzberg explains that Anne François, the films producer, suggested that he should read Fred Uhlman's novel for a possible collaboration. He really liked the book and its "story of friendship in the beginning of the Nazi period". Schatzberg decided to hire a mostly British cast and a British screen writer to make the movie "feel more European". He came up with two names for a writer but they weren't available. A friend of the producer personally sent the book to Harold Pinter, who soon replied that he "loves the story". Schatzberg was reluctant to use Pinter at first, he couldn't envision Pinter's name on the script, and he was slightly intimidated by him. But after the two had a long conversation, Schatzberg was convinced that Pinter was the only person for the job.

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Goofs

In 1932, Germany used the same flag it uses today. That flag was used 1848-1852, 1919-1933, and 1950-present.

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Quotes

Count Konradin von Lohenburg: I believe in Hitler. I met him in Munich recently. He really impressed me. He is totally sincere. He has such... he has true passion. I think he can save our country. He is our only hope.

User Reviews

The Banality of Evil

Obviously deeply felt by both writer and director, immaculately designed on what seems to be a lavish budget by veteran Alexander Trauner (who appears early on playing the caretaker) and photographed in widescreen suffused in a nostalgiac glow by cameraman Bruno De Keyzer. The leisurely pace at which 'Reunion' unfolds conveys something of the gradualness with which the appalling reality overwhelms its characters, although the slow-burning first hour is disrupted by jarringly emphatic black & white inserts to keep reminding the audience of the calamity about to strike (as if they needed such nudging). Konradin's credulous willingness to give a demagogic snake-oil salesman like Hitler the benefit of the doubt - "He really impressed me. He is totally sincere. He has such... he has true passion. I think he can save our country. He is our only hope." - however remains depressingly familiar today.

But for the final, very abrupt, 'surprise' ending to work, the audience is assumed not to be able to recognise the ferrety face of Roland Freisler, occasionally seen although never identified by name (and ironically - as played by Roland Schäfer looking remarkably like John Malkovich in heavy eye-liner - relatively restrained compared to the actual bellowing maniac preserved for posterity in newsreels). And would it really have taken over forty years and a trip all the way back to the very school in Stuttgart were they were originally pupils for Henry to only now learn Konradin's fate?

Details

Country:

France West Germany UK

Language:

English German

Release Date:

17 May 1989 (France)

Also Known As:

Anılar

Filming Locations:

Neue Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arbo, Berlin Film Commission, C.L.G. Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1