Scardanelli

An experimental documentary film about Friedrich Hölderlin. In the middle of the film, there is a short excerpt from a Nazi propaganda film: O. E. Hasse reads "Der Tod fürs Vaterland" (Death for the Fatherland), the poem that was given to German soldiers on the front lines during World War II. This is contrasted with texts from Hölderlin's late work, which have only recently been edited. This creates a completely different picture of Hölderlin's poetry.

Rolf Dieter Brinkmann was a celebrated and iconoclastic German poet who brought the rebellious attitude of the Beat Movement to Europe in the early Sixties. Having no use for the sentimental poetry and burdens of moral responsibility that permeated post-war German, Brinkmann's verse depicted contemporary life with a bold immediacy which also informed his work in film, photography, visual art and audio collage. Brinkmann's life outside of the public eye was every bit as turbulent as his public image, though in different ways -- he had a stormy relationship with his wife and their son was severely handicapped. Filmmaker Harald Bergmann wrote and directed Brinkmanns Zorn (aka Brinkmann's Wrath), a biographical drama which stars Eckhard Rhode as Brinkmann and Alexandra Finder as his spouse. Brinkmanns Zorn was screened in competition at the 2007 Rotterdam International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi