Die Architekten

Die Architekten
Directed by	Peter Kahane
Screenplay by	Thomas Knauf Peter Kahane
Produced by	Herbert Ehler
Cinematography	Andreas Köfer
Edited by	Ilse Peters
Music by	Tamas Kahane
Release date	1990 (1990)
Running time	107 minutes
Country	East Germany
Language	German

Die Architekten (English: The Architects) is an East German film directed by Peter Kahane. It was released in 1990.

Plot

Daniel Brenner is an East German architect in his late thirties. Despite a top university degree, his professional life revolves around bus shelters and telephone booths. Then he receives a commission to design a cultural center for a satellite town. Brenner accepts under the condition that he will be allowed to select his own team. Their plan to create a non-conventional design fails. His wife and their daughter leave the country for West Germany. Broken and disillusioned, Brenner collapses in front of the project's inauguration tribune.

Cast

• Kurt Naumann as Daniel Brenner
• Rita Feldmeier as Wanda Brenner
• Uta Eisold as Renate Reese
• Jürgen Watzke as Martin Bulla
• Ute Lubosch as Franziska Scharf
• Jörg Schüttauf as Wilfried Berger

Music

The music was written by Tamas Kahane. The film's songs counterpoint its images: Unsere Heimat is added to scenes of urban canyons, the Berlin Wall, industrial complexes and prefabricated housing developments. The protagonist collapses to the tunes of Handel's Messiah.

Reception

With less than 6,000 tickets sold, the film received scant attention at the time of release. In retrospect it is considered a significant cineastic contribution to the country's time of transition.

References

• The Architects at IMDb
• Oehmig, Richard (16 November 2009). 'Überholt' von der Geschichte? Drei DEFA-Spielfilme im Blickpunkt. ISBN 978-3-640-47262-8.