Buddenbrooks (film)

Buddenbrooks, released also as Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family, is a 2008 German drama film directed by Heinrich Breloer, adapted from the 1901 novel of the same name by Thomas Mann. It stars Armin Mueller-Stahl as the family's patriarch Consul Jean Buddenbrook, Iris Berben as his wife Bethsy Buddenbrook, and Jessica Schwarz, Mark Waschke and August Diehl as their children Tony, Thomas and Christian Buddenbrook, respectively.

This article is about the 2008 film. For the 1923 silent film, see The Buddenbrooks (1923 film). For the 1959 film, see The Buddenbrooks (1959 film).
Buddenbrooks
Directed byHeinrich Breloer
Produced by
  • Michael Hild
  • Jan S. Kaiser
  • Uschi Reich
  • Winka Wulff
Screenplay by
  • Heinrich Breloer
  • Horst Königstein
Based onBuddenbrooks
by Thomas Mann
Starring
Music byHans Peter Ströer
CinematographyGernot Roll
Edited byBarbara von Weitershausen
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • December 25, 2008 (2008-12-25)
Running time
150 minutes
CountryGermany
Language

Buddenbrooks was released in Germany on 25 December 2008, and by July 2009 it was seen by more than 1.2million viewers.[1] The film had its American premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival in June 2009.[2] In 2010, it was released as a two–episode television miniseries, which was shown on the Arte on 23 and 24 December,[3] and on the Das Erste on 27 and 28 December.[4]

Plot

Buddenbrooks portrays the decline of a wealthy merchant family of Lübeck, the Buddenbrooks, through three generations — Consul Johann "Jean" Buddenbrook (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and his wife Elisabeth "Bethsy" Buddenbrook (Iris Berben); their children Thomas (Mark Waschke), Christian (August Diehl) and Antonie "Tony" Buddenbrook (Jessica Schwarz); and Thomas' son Hanno (Raban Bieling).

Even though he dearly loves them, Consul Buddenbrook expects his children to subordinate their personal happiness to the welfare of the family firm. The first to learn this is Tony, who is married off to Bendix Grünlich (Justus von Dohnányi), a businessman from Hamburg. Her brothers have meanwhile learned the trade in Amsterdam and London. Crushed by Tony's marital disaster and several unlucky transactions, Jean Buddenbrook makes over the business to his eldest, Thomas. Thomas marries the Dutch heiress Gerda (Léa Bosco), a passionate violin player, although he does not love her. After having spent time in Valparaiso, Christian returns to Lübeck. Thomas soon learns that his brother is much more interested in the theatre and actress Aline (Nina Proll) than in the company, which causes a rift between the brothers. Seeing that she cannot heal it, their mother admonishes them to at least conceal it from society.

Cast

Awards and nominations
Award Year Category Nominated Result
Bavarian Film Awards 2008 Production and Costume Design Götz Weidner
Barbara Baum		 Won[5]

Home media

Buddenbrooks was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 11 September 2009.[6]

References
  1. "Filmhitliste: Monat Juli 2009". FFA (in German). July 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  2. "Buddenbrooks". Seattle International Film Festival. June 2009. Archived from the original on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  3. Krei, Alexander (24 December 2010). "Arte feiert großen Erfolg mit den Buddenbrooks". DWDL.de (in German). Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  4. Mantel, Uwe (28 December 2010). "Buddenbrooks: Im Ersten nur noch maue Quoten". DWDL.de (in German). Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  5. "Ministerpräsident Horst Seehofer verleiht 30. Bayerischen Filmpreis". www.bayern.de (in German). 16 January 2009. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  6. "Buddenbrooks – Offizieller Netzauftritt". www.buddenbrooks-derfilm.de (in German). Archived from the original on 4 July 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
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