Persian Lessons (2020)
Persischstunden (original title)Reference View | Change View
- 2h 7min
- Drama, War
- 24 Sep 2020 (Germany)
- Movie
A young Jewish man in a concentration camp has his life saved when executioners realize he owns a Persian book. Brought before a camp officer who wants to learn Farsi, Gilles agrees to teach him despite not knowing a word of the language.
Director:
Writers:
Awards:
- 9 wins & 15 nominations.
- See more »
Photos and Videos
Cast
| Nahuel Pérez Biscayart | ... |
Gilles
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| Lars Eidinger | ... |
Klaus Koch
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| Jonas Nay | ... |
Max
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| David Schütter | ... |
Paul
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| Alexander Beyer | ... |
Camp Commandant
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| Andreas Hofer | ... |
Adjutant von Dewitz
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| Leonie Benesch | ... |
Elsa
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Luisa-Céline Gaffron | ... |
Jana
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Nico Ehrenteit | ... |
SS-Obersturmführer Eugen Krupp
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Giuseppe Schillaci | ... |
Marco Rossi
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| Antonin Chalon | ... |
Jacob Rossi
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Serge Barbagallo | ... |
France KAPO
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Peter Beck | ... |
Nazi Doctor
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Felix von Bredow | ... |
SS-Untersturmführer Siemens
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Pascal Elso | ... |
French Policeman
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| Marcus Calvin | ... |
American Investigator
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Mehdi Rahim-Silvioli | ... |
Nathan
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Ingo Hülsmann | ... |
SS-Sturmbannführer Farber
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Elena Stetsenko | ... |
Stenographer
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| Gennadiy Fomin | ... |
Farmer
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Alexander Starchenko | ... |
Russian Soldier 1
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Alexandr Zhdanovich | ... |
Russian Soldier 2
(as Alexander Zhdanovich)
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Anton Zhukov | ... |
German Soldier Innsbruck
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| Svetlana Anikey | ... |
SS German Girl 1
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Anastasia Gudei | ... |
SS German Girl 2
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Veronika Buslaeva | ... |
SS German Girl 3
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| Elena Pobegaeva | ... |
SS German Girl 4
(as Elena Girenok)
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Denis Tarasenko | ... |
Gate Soldier
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| Maksim Braginetz | ... |
Officer Gate Guard
(as Maxim Braginets)
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Alexander Odinets | ... |
German Soldier At Shooting
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| Andrey Karako | ... |
British Pilot
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| Aleksandr Parfenovich | ... |
One-armed Prisoner
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Oleg Veber | ... |
German soldier
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| Maximilian Anthony | ... |
American Soldier (uncredited)
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Sofya Gershevich | ... |
Melanie (uncredited)
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| Gareth McGregor | ... |
US Army Officer (uncredited)
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Directed by
| Vadim Perelman | ||
Written by
| Ilja Zofin | ... | (screenplay) (as Ilya Tsofin) |
| Wolfgang Kohlhaase | ... | (based on the story "Erfindung einer Sprache" by) |
Produced by
| Rauf Atamalibekov | ... | producer |
| Timur Bekmambetov | ... | producer |
| Sol Bondy | ... | co-producer |
| Pavel Burya | ... | producer |
| Elizaveta Chalenko | ... | co-producer |
| Mathieu Delaunay | ... | executive producer |
| Ilya Dzhincharadze | ... | co-producer |
| Andrey Lipov | ... | line producer |
| Murad Osmann | ... | producer |
| Vadim Perelman | ... | producer |
| Leonid Shpolskiy | ... | co-producer |
| Ilya Stewart | ... | producer |
| Anouk van Ghemen | ... | consulting producer |
| Jamila Wenske | ... | co-producer |
| Ilja Zofin | ... | producer (as Ilya Tsofin) |
Music by
| Evgueni Galperine | ||
| Sacha Galperine | ||
Cinematography by
| Vladislav Opelyants | ||
Editing by
| Vessela Martschewski | ||
Editorial Department
| Andrey Mesnyankin | ... | digital intermediate colorist |
Casting By
| J. McAlary | ... | (as John McAlary) |
| Anastasia Smekalova | ||
Production Design by
| Vladislav Ogay | ... | (as Vlad Ogai) |
| Dmitriy Tatarnikov | ||
Costume Design by
| Aleksey Kamyshov | ||
Production Management
| Fred Burle | ... | project manager |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
| Oleksii Smoliar | ... | first assistant director (as Aleksey Smolyar) |
Sound Department
| Kirill Bodrov | ... | additional adr recordist |
| Alexey Breytburg | ... | re-recording mixer |
| Mikhail Ogonkov | ... | adr recordist |
| Pepe Pleguezuelos | ... | re-recording mixer |
| Ilya Putilin | ... | dialogue editor |
| Serezha Shubin | ... | boom operator |
| Igor Tarasov | ... | boom operator |
| Boris Voyt | ... | sound supervisor: production sound mixer |
| Natalia Zueva | ... | foley artist |
Visual Effects by
| Sergey Toktarov | ... | visual effects supervisor |
| Aleksandr Viatkin | ... | visual effects artist |
| Nadezhda Zezyukova | ... | visual effects producer |
Stunts
| Tomas Ereminas | ... | stunt coordinator |
| Mikhail Tarhonski | ... | stunt double: Lars Eidinger |
Camera and Electrical Department
| Alexander Egorov | ... | gaffer |
| Aleksandr Vdovenko | ... | A camera: steadicam operator |
Casting Department
| Margarita Amineva | ... | assistant to casting director |
| Valentina Katina-Chistova | ... | casting |
| J. McAlary | ... | casting (as John McAlary) |
Music Department
| Jeff Genie | ... | composer agent |
| Aymeric Letoquart | ... | music mixer |
| Vsevolod Polonsky | ... | additional orchestration: conductor |
Script and Continuity Department
| Norbert Maass | ... | script consultant |
| Jacob Perelman | ... | Script Editor |
Additional Crew
| Andreas Friedrich Bareiss | ... | legal counsel (as Andreas Bareiss) |
| Ernestine Kahn | ... | dialogue consultant: Alexander Beyer |
| Emmanuel Denizot | ... | translator: French subtitles (uncredited) |
Thanks
| Feo Aladag | ... | thanks |
| Vernon Dobtcheff | ... | thanks |
Production Companies
Distributors
- Alamode Film (2020) (Germany) (theatrical)
- Frenetic Films (2020) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
- KMBO (2022) (France) (theatrical)
- Panda Lichtspiele Filmverleih (2020) (Austria) (theatrical)
- Spentzos Films (2021) (Greece) (theatrical)
- Splendid Film (2021) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
- Academy 2 (2020) (Italy)
- Alamode Film (2021) (Germany) (Blu-ray)
- Alamode Film (2021) (Germany) (DVD)
- Avalon (2021) (Spain)
- BestFilm.eu (2020) (Latvia)
- BestFilm.eu (2020) (Lithuania)
- Cohen Media Group (2020) (United States)
- Forefront Media Group (2020) (South Africa)
- JinJin Pictures (2020) (South Korea)
- Lev Cinemas (2020) (Israel)
- MCF (2020) (Albania) (MCF also distributes for ex-Yugoslavia)
- Signature Entertainment (2020) (United Kingdom)
- Splendid Film (2022) (Netherlands) (DVD)
Special Effects
Other Companies
- Ad hoc studios (dubbing facility)
- Freeway CAM B.V. (collection account management)
Storyline
| Plot Summary |
1942. Gilles, a young Belgian man, is arrested by the SS alongside other Jews and sent to a concentration camp in Germany. He narrowly avoids execution by swearing to the guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie temporarily saves him, but then Gilles is assigned a seemingly untenable mission: to teach Persian to Koch, the officer in charge of the camp's kitchen, who dreams of opening a restaurant in Persia (Iran) once the war is over. Gilles finds himself having to invent a language he doesn't know, word by word. As the unusual relationship between the two men begins to incite jealousy and suspicion, Gilles becomes acutely aware that one false move could expose his swindle. |
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| Parents Guide | View content advisory » |
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Box Office
| Budget | EUR4,000,000 (estimated) |
| Cumulative Worldwide Gross | EUR8,600,000, 31 Jul 2022 |
Did You Know?
| Trivia | "Joon" means dear in Farsi and is not a family name; Reza, however, is a name. So, "Reza joon" means "dear Reza." See more » |
| Goofs | At 12:40, the Farsi title of the book "Mythes de la Perse" is printed incorrectly. The words are written from the left to right as opposed to right to left. The characters are individually printed unlike in Farsi. And the top and bottom lines should are swapped. The translation from French however is correct. The book is clearly a prop. The misprint and the actual translation are visually different and immediately noticeable even to a non-Farsi speaker. See more » |
| Quotes |
Klaus Koch:
[Koch took Gilles back after he was put to move to another camp]
You would risk your life for those nameless people. Gilles: Those aren't nameless. Just because you don't know their names. At least they aren't murderers. Klaus Koch: I'm not a murderer. Gilles: No. You just make sure that the murderers eat well. See more » |