TV tip - "Winter Waltz": The Christmas movie of the year
Television viewers are not necessarily spoiled by ARD films on Friday evenings. This time slot is often used for light fare involving quarrelling lovers from the provinces. The tragicomedy "Winter Waltz" this Friday at 8.15 p.m. on Ersten is a brilliant exception.
Ulrich Matthes, one of Germany's most distinguished stars of theater, film and television, is at the heart of this adaptation of a novel full of black humor and warmth of heart. It is certainly the Christmas movie of the year.
Matthes plays the former star dancer Albert Gottwald, who no longer sees any meaning in life after the death of his wife Martha. He repeatedly leaves messages on their shared answering machine to hear her voice and to leave her messages - grumpy sentences such as "Another day that looks like muddy mushrooms". When the neighbor's dog eats the robin he once raised with Martha, it finally becomes too much for Albert: he snaps and finally prepares his own death in the middle of Advent. He cuts off the electricity, gas and water and ties himself to a gallows rope. But who will find his body? Albert comes up with a plan that will lead him into many impossible situations over the next few days.
A woman enters the sad man's life
Meanwhile, Albert's daughter, hospital doctor Ina (Antonia Bill), is very worried about her father. She manages to win over her superior Hanne Hanken for a caring intrigue: Hanne (played by Grimme Award winner Nina Kunzendorf) is to pose as a dance student in order to get an idea of Albert's psyche. At the same time, the sad man is told the lie by those around him that he has to stand in as a dance teacher for an injured friend. This is the only way to save her Berlin studio.
Psychiatrist Hanne is reluctant at first ("There's no way I'm going to dance"), but then agrees. And Albert falls for the lie. Things quickly start to sizzle between the two. And Albert dances his way back into life with Hanne more and more. For TV viewers, it is fascinating to see how good the chemistry between the two is.
A passionate dancer
Ulrich Matthes ("Der Untergang", "Das Boot") is also a passionate dancer in real life, even if his competitive career was very short. "My parents put me in a dance school when I was eleven," he tells dpa. "I was a very active child and occasionally did fantasy dances. And then my parents said: 'Maybe he'd enjoy a dance school. Cha-cha-cha and all that."
The dance school signed him up for a children's tournament. "I ended up in seventh place with my little partner - out of seven couples. Seventh out of seven: Nope! And that was the end of my dancing career." Between the ages of 20 and 30, he was "a real disco night bird". "I could still do that back then, but now I have to go to bed by half past twelve at the latest," says Matthes with a laugh.
The 89-minute film begins sadly, but then becomes increasingly cheerful, explains the actor. "But isn't that typical of Christmas movies? Albert only slowly opens up again when this strange woman enters his life: played by Nina Kunzendorf, who I really enjoyed filming with." For him, the film has "an almost political message" that you shouldn't give up hope even in painful situations for a person or a society.
Matthes: "I'm 51 percent optimistic, I believe in success. The movie conveys this 51 percent. In this respect, it does us good at a time when many people - myself included - are overwhelmed by the terrible crises and wars around the world."
The tragicomedy was based on the novel "Der Donnerstagsmann" by Edda Leesch, who also wrote the screenplay. The ARD Degeto production was directed by Ingo Rasper.
Note: Do you have suicidal thoughts or have you noticed them in a relative/acquaintance? Help is available from the telephone counselling service: anonymous advice is available around the clock on the free numbers 0800 / 111 0 111 and 0800 / 111 0 222. Advice can also be obtained via the Internet at www.telefonseelsorge.de.
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Source: www.stern.de
