DIPLOMACY
A FILM BY VOLKER SCHLÖNDORFFFR/DE 2014, 84 MIN
General Dietrich von Choltitz (Niels Arestrup)
General Dietrich von Choltitz (Niels Arestrup) and Consul Raoul Nordling (André Dussoiller)
Lieutenant Bressensdorf (Robert Stadlober)
On set with Volker Schlöndorff, André Dussoiller and Niels Arestrup
General Dietrich von Choltitz (Niels Arestrup) and Consul Raoul Nordling (André Dussoiller)
Consul Raoul Nordling (André Dussoiller)
Jacques Lanvin (Jean-Marc Roulot)
General Dietrich von Choltitz (Niels Arestrup)
SYNOPSIS
It is the night of August 24th to 25th, 1944. The Allied forces stand just before Paris. Adolf Hitler has ordered that the French capital "must not fall into the hands of the enemy, or if it does, only as a field of ruins.” Just before dawn, in his main headquarters in the Hotel Meurice, Dietrich von Choltitz (Niels Arestrup), the German Wehrmacht general and military commander of Paris, prepares to carry out Hitler’s orders and to raze the city to the ground. Everything is in place for the demolition: the bridges over the Seine and the city’s most important monuments — the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, the Louvre, Sacré-Cœur, Place de la Concorde and the Eiffel Tower — have all been rigged with explosives. But at the very last moment von Choltitz prevents the blasting – Paris is not destroyed. What induces the General, sworn to absolute obedience until now, not to execute the order of the "Führer“? Is it moral concerns or the pressure of the Allied forces? Raoul Nordling (André Dussollier), the Swedish consul general in Paris, plays a key role in all of this. How does the wise diplomat succeed to dissuade the German Wehrmacht general of his destructive plan? It is a play of power with words of two very different men in a night of historical importance…
CAST AND CREW
General Dietrich von Choltitz: Niels Arestrup
Consul Raoul Nordling: André Dussollier
Captain Ebernach: Burghart Klaußner
Lieutenant Bressensdorf: Robert Stadlober
Concierge: Charlie Nelson
Jacques Lanvin: Jean-Marc Roulot
Corporal Mayer: Stefan Wilkening
Lieutenant Hegger: Thomas Arnold
SS Officer (Obersturmführer): Lucas Prisor
SS Officer: Attila Borlan
Young Soldier: Johannes Klaußner
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Director: Volker Schlöndorff
Screenplay: Cyril Gely and Volker Schlöndorff, based on the play DIPLOMACY by Cyril Gely
Director of Photography: Michel Amathieu AFC
Editor: Virginie Bruant
Set Designer: Jacques Rouxel ADC
Costume Designer: Mirjam Muschel
Sound Department: Philippe Garnier, André Zacher and Olivier Dô Hùu
Visual Effects: Pixomondo
Original Score: Jörg Lemberg
Production Director: Jean-Christophe Cardineau
Producers: Marc de Bayser, Frank le Wita together with Francis Boespflug, Sidonie Dumas
Co-Producers: Amelie Latscha, Felix Moeller
Theatrical Release: France, March 5th, 2014 distributed by Gaumont; Germany, August 28, 2014 distributed by Koch Media; USA, October 15th, 2014 distributed by Zeitgeist Films
International Sales: Gaumont
DVD Release: France August 2014
Festivals (Selection): International Filmfestival Berlin, Germany; Istanbul International Film Festival, Turkey; Shanghai International Film Festival, China; Vukovar Film Festival, Croatia; German Film Festival Singapore, Singapoure; IFI French Film Festival Dublin, Ireland; Cinepolitica, Romania ; Institut Français D'Ukraine, Ukraine ; Valladolid International Film Festival, Spain; Telluride Film Festival, USA; Mill Valley Film Festival, USA; Haifa International Film Festival, Israel; Festival do Rio - Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, Brazil; New Zealand International Film Festival, New Zealand; Hong Kong French Film Festival, Hong Kong; Kolkata International Film Festival, India; UK Jewish Film Festival, UK
Awards: César for the best adapted screenplay, Golden Goblet Award for the best screenplay, Shanghai International Film Festival, The Best Actor Award for Nils Arestrup at the Valladolid International Film Festival and Best Director Award for Volker Schloendorff at the Valladolid International Film Festival
FBW–Predicate Especially Worthwhile, German Film and Media Review 2013
PRESS
„Schlöndorff tells his story in a very cinematographic way, as a meditation in a bluish twilight state in which the light gradually wins out in the battle against the shadows.” Süddeutsche Zeitung
„Diplomacy’ is a convincing war drama in which words are wielded in the fight for life and death.” Die Welt
„A battle of convictions: obedience versus humanity. A suspenseful film!” ZDF “Heute in Europa”
„[...] a highly suspenseful kammerspiel from the first to last minute [...].”
Berliner Morgenpost
„[...] a thrilling kammerspiel [...]." Abendzeitung München
„Schlöndorff tells his story in a very cinematographic way, as a meditation in a bluish twilight state in which the light gradually wins out in the battle against the shadows.” Süddeutsche Zeitung
„Diplomacy’ is a convincing war drama in which words are wielded in the fight for life and death.” Die Welt
„A battle of convictions: obedience versus humanity. A suspenseful film!” ZDF “Heute in Europa”
„[...] a highly suspenseful kammerspiel from the first to last minute [...].”
Berliner Morgenpost
„[...] a thrilling kammerspiel [...]." Abendzeitung München
„[...] Schlöndorff stages the rapprochement between the two positions so powerfully that viewers are transformed into witnesses in a room that vibrates with the tension of the dialogue.” Der Tagesspiegel „Fabulous! A beautiful movie!” Le Parisien
„An excellent film with two superb actors! Volker Schlöndorff has produced a successful blend of theater and film.” Le Figaro
„Fantastic!” France Culture
„This is how gripping history can be.” Elle France