''Burning Secret'' is a 1988
drama film, based on the short story ''Brennendes Geheimnis'' by
Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig (; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist, and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular write ...
, about an American
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
's son who befriends a mysterious baron while staying at an
Austrian spa during the 1920s. This symbol-filled story, filmed with sensuous detail and nuance, is set in Austria in the 1920s. While being treated for
asthma at a country spa, an American diplomat's lonely 12-year-old son is befriended and infatuated by a suave, mysterious baron. During a story of his war experiences, the baron reveals the scar of a wound from an American soldier and thrusts a pin through it, saying "see—no feeling." Little does the boy realize that it is his turn to be wounded. But soon his adored friend heartlessly brushes him aside and turns his seductive attentions to his mother. The boy's jealousy and feelings of betrayal become uncontrollable.
The film was written and directed by
Andrew Birkin, and stars
Klaus Maria Brandauer,
Faye Dunaway, and David Eberts. The film won the Young Jury Prize at the Brussels Film Festival in 1989, and David Eberts won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival in the same year.
According to Birkin, the making of the movie "was something of a nightmare" with the two lead actors thoroughly disliking one another and other problems while shooting on location in
Mariánské Lázně while directing young David Eberts was "a joy".
The film was film composer
Hans Zimmer's only second feature film scoring.
Lions Gate Home Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian- American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered i ...
has yet to release the film onto DVD.
See also
* ''
The Burning Secret
''The Burning Secret'' (german: Brennendes Geheimnis) is a 1933 Austrian-German drama film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Alfred Abel, Hilde Wagener and Hans Joachim Schaufuß. It was based on the novella of the same title by Stefan Zw ...
'' (1923)
* ''
The Burning Secret
''The Burning Secret'' (german: Brennendes Geheimnis) is a 1933 Austrian-German drama film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Alfred Abel, Hilde Wagener and Hans Joachim Schaufuß. It was based on the novella of the same title by Stefan Zw ...
'' (1933)
References
External links
*
*
1988 films
West German films
1988 drama films
English-language German films
Films based on works by Stefan Zweig
Films based on short fiction
Films scored by Hans Zimmer
Films directed by Andrew Birkin
Films set in Austria
Films set in the 1920s
Vestron Pictures films
British drama films
Adultery in films
Remakes of German films
British remakes of German films
1980s English-language films
1980s British films
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