The Dreamed Ones 2016
Distributed by Grasshopper Films, 12 East 32nd St., 4th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Produced by Ruth Beckermann
Directed by Ruth Beckermann
DVD, color, 89 min.
College - General Adult
Biography, Drama, Ethics, Human Relations, Interpersonal Communication, Interpersonal Relations, Jewish Holocaust, Poetry, Storytelling, Writing, World War II
Date Entered: 05/29/2018
Reviewed by Brad Eden, Ph.D., Dean of Library Services, Valparaiso UniversityThis rather cerebral film documents, through a reading at a radio station, the love letters of postwar poet Paul Celan and Ingeborg Bachmann. The entire movie centers around the love letters read by actors Laurence Rupp and Anja Plaschg, who portray the tortured lovers. Celan's parents were killed in a Nazi concentration camp, while Ingeborg's father had been a Nazi party member. After a brief affair in 1948 in Vienna, the two separate but remain connected throughout their lives through over 200 letters, even though they married other people. Celan committed suicide in 1971, while Bachmann died a few months later. The film moves through the decades of letters, and the dramatic silences are connected to the title of the movie. For those interested in post-World War II personal relationships and conflicts, and college classes in post-war Europe and human relations, this film will be an interesting addition and create valuable discussion topics.