''Sometime in August'' () is a 2009 German

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Sebastian Schipper Sebastian Schipper (born 8 May 1968) is a German actor and filmmaker. Life and career Sebastian Schipper studied acting at the Otto Falckenberg Schule in Munich from 1992 to 1995. He got his first film role in Sönke Wortmann's '' Little Sharks' ...

, starring

Marie Bäumer Henrike Marie Bäumer (; born 7 May 1969) is a German film and TV actress. She has appeared in more than forty films since 1993. She has a son with actor Nicki von Tempelhoff. Selected filmography Awards * Grimme-Preis The Grimme-Preis (" ...

, Milan Peschel,

André Hennicke André Hennicke (born 21 September 1958) is a German actor. He has appeared in more than one hundred films since 1984. Hennicke was born in Johanngeorgenstadt in Saxony. He was awarded a German television award for best actor for ''Something to ...

and Anna Brüggemann. It tells the story of Thomas and Hanna, a happily married couple settled on the countryside, whose relationship is challenged when they are visited by Tomas' brother and Hanna's goddaughter. The film is loosely based on the 1809 novel ''

Elective Affinities ''Elective Affinities'' (German: ''Die Wahlverwandtschaften''), also translated under the title ''Kindred by Choice'', is the third novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, published in 1809. Situated around the city of Weimar, the book relates the ...

'' by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

. The film premiered in the Forum section of the

59th Berlin International Film Festival The 59th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5 February to 15 February 2009. The opening film of the festival was Tom Tykwer’s '' The International'', screened out of competition. Costa-Gavras's immigrant drama ''Eden Is West'' serv ...

. It won the Grand Prix at the

Cabourg Film Festival The Cabourg Film Festival (french: Festival du Film de Cabourg – Journées romantiques or simply ) is an annual film festival held every June in Cabourg, France. Founded in 1983 by writer-journalist Gonzague Saint Bris, the festival is dedic ...

Cast

* Milan Peschel as Thomas *

as Hanna * Anna Brüggemann as Augustine *

as Friedrich *

Gert Voss Gert Voss (10 October 1941 – 13 July 2014) was a German actor. He was known for his roles in ''Labyrinth of Lies'' (2014), '' Sometime in August'' (2009) and ' (1987). He was member of the ensemble of the Burgtheater, and a ''Kammerschauspi ...

as Bo *

Agnes Zeltina Agnes or Agness may refer to: People *Agnes (name), the given name, and a list of people named Agnes or Agness * Wilfrid Marcel Agnès (1920–2008), Canadian diplomat Places *Agnes, Georgia, United States, a ghost town *Agnes, Missouri, United ...

as Galina Petrova

Production

The film was produced by Film1 GmbH & Co. KG in collaboration with Senator Film Produktion and

Norddeutscher Rundfunk Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR; ''Northern German Broadcasting'') is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, M ...

. Filming took place in Hamburg, from 28 August to 21 October 2007.

Reception

Kirk Honeycutt of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' wrote: "Goethe seemingly was playing with notions of fate and free will but his work is generally considered enigmatic. For his part, Schipper shows a couple's equilibrium getting upset by outside forces, but he never establishes any reason why this should be." Honeycutt continued: "The four characters -- along with a brief, somewhat inexplicable appearance by Hanna's father and his absurd Russian girlfriend -- never really come alive. The actors are all rather earnest and a score by American singer-songwriter

Vic Chesnutt James Victor Chesnutt (November 12, 1964 – December 25, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, ''Little'', was released in 1990. His commercial breakthrough came in 1996 with the release of '' Sweet ...

wears soulfulness on its sleeve. But the film never gets at what ails these people. It must be bad chemistry."

References

External links

* 2009 drama films 2009 films Films based on German novels Films based on works by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Films directed by Sebastian Schipper German drama films 2000s German-language films 2000s German films {{2000s-Germany-film-stub