Die Poenichen
Edition is a historical drama in 36 episodes about (the fictional character) Maximiliane
Irene von Quindt and the people around her.
This drama, which
covers almost six decades of the 20th century, was shown on German television in
1978 and in 1980. It was released on DVD in 2017.
Here is some basic
information about it:
** Directors:
Günter Grävert (1930-1996), Rof Hädrich (1931-2000) & Rainer Wolffhardt
(1927-2017)
** Writers: Eva
Maria Mieke, Hartmut Grund & Wilfried Schröder
** Based on two
historical novels by Christine Brückner
** Musical score
composed by Joe Dixie (1924-1992)
** Language:
German – no English subtitles!
** Run time: 36 x
25 minutes = approximately 900 minutes
The cast includes
the following:
The first group
** Ulrike Bliefert
(born 1951) as Maximiliane “Maxi” Irene von Quindt (born 1918)
** Annika Fröhlich
as Maxi (age 4-6)
** Anne-Kathrin
Maetzig as Maxi (age 12)
** Arno Assmann
(1908-1979) as Count Joachim von Quindt (the grandfather)
** Edda Seipel
(1919-1993) as Countess Sophie Charlotte von Quindt (the grandmother)
** Franziska
Bronnen (born 1940) as Vera von Quindt (Maxi’s mother)
** Pinkas Braun
(1923-2008) as Dr Daniel Grün (later: Green) (Vera’s second husband)
** Wilfried Klaus
(born 1941) as Viktor Quint (born 1908) (Maxi’s husband) (note: his last name is
spelled Quint)
The second group
** Herbert
Steinmetz (1908-1986) as Otto Riepe (driver)
** Ilsemarie
Schnering (1909 or 1916-1995) as Anna Riepe (Otto’s wife, cook)
** Hartmut Becker
(born 1938) as Christian Blaskorken (inspector)
** Gerhard Garbers
as Marten von Quinten (a distant relative) (farmer) (note: his last name is spelled
Quinten)
** Nina Gunke as
Stina Bonde (a Swedish woman)
** Matthias
Ponnier (born 1940) as Ossian Schiff (an artist)
** Britta Fischer
as Lenchen Priebe von Jadow (a distant relative)
Maxi’s children
** Joachim “Moshe”
(born 1938) is played by 2 or 3 actors, including Matthias Einert (1954-2004)
** Golo (born 1939)
is played by 2 or 3 actors, including Sasha Mieke
** Viktoria (born
1942) is played by 2 or 3 actors, including Ute Christensen
** Mirka (born
1945) is played by 2 or 3 actors, including Bettina Friedrich
** Edda (born
1936, adopted 1942) is played by 2 or 3 actors, including Eva Behrmann
The German writer Christine
Brückner (1921-1996) is the author of several books, including a trilogy about
the families Quindt and Quint:
** The first volume Jauche und Levkojen was published in 1975
** The second volume Nirgendwo ist Poenichen was published in 1977
** The third and
final volume Die Quints was published in 1985
Her books were popular
with German readers. This is probably why the first and the second volumes of
the trilogy were adapted for television.
The third and
final volume (published in 1985) was never adapted for television.
As stated above,
there are 36 episodes.
Here is an
overview:
Season 1 – Jauche
und Levkojen
** Premiered on
television in 1978
** The time frame
is 1917-1945
** Episodes 1-17
Season 2 – Nirgendwo ist Poenichen
** Premiered on
television in 1980
** The time frame
is 1945-1976
** Episodes 18-36
Season one Jauche
und Levkojen was released on DVD in 2008, while season two Nirgendwo ist
Poenichen was released on DVD in 2009.
Die Poenichen
Edition - a special box set with both seasons - was released on DVD in 2017.
As stated above, this
is a historical drama. What we have here is a fictional story placed in a
historical context.
In this case, the context
is almost six decades of German history in the 20th century: 1917-1976.
The main location
in season one is Poenichen, a large rural estate in Pomerania - known in German
as Pommern - which is a piece of land stretching along the coast of the Baltic
Sea.
The western part of
this land is known as Vorpommern, while the eastern part of this land is known
as Hinterpommern.
Before World War II,
Pommern was a part of Germany. After the war, when Poland was moved towards the
west, Hinterpommern became a part of Poland.
Poenichen is a
large rural estate in Hinterpommern which never existed. It was invented by the
author.
In 1943, during
the war, the author lived in Pommern for a while. Her experiences during this
visit became the inspiration for the first volume of the trilogy.
The estate seen in the television drama is Gut Sierhagen in Holstein.
The main character
Maxi is born at Poenichen in August 1918. This is where she grows up. For
her, Poenichen is home.
What about the
title of the drama? What does it mean? Actually, there are two titles, one for
each season:
** Jauche und Levkojen
is German for “Liquid Manure and Wallflowers.” This odd title is never
explained.
I assume the term “liquid
manure” refers to the hard work which is connected with farming and
agriculture, while the word “wallflowers” refers to the beauty you can often find in
a rural landscape.
In other words: Jauche und Levkojen is probably a reference to life in the countryside.
** Nirgendwo ist
Poenichen is German for “Poenichen is nowhere.”
In 1945, when Maxi
has to leave Poenichen, she loses her home. For the rest of her life, she is
searching for a place to call home. Since she has no real home, she can live
anywhere.
I do not wish to
spoil the viewing for anyone. I am not going to say much about what happens in
this historical drama. But I have to mention a few facts in order to explain my
rating. Otherwise, I will only tell you how the story begins.
Maxi’s parents are
married in 1917, during World War One. The marriage takes place in Berlin, in
the famous five-star hotel next to Brandenburger Tor: Das Adlon.
Her father is an
officer in the German army. As soon as the honeymoon is over, he has to return
to the war.
Her mother Vera is
from Berlin. When the husband returns to the war, she travels to the estate
which belongs to his family: Poenichen in Hinterpommern.
Vera is pregnant,
and Maxi is born in August 1918. But her father is still in the army. He is
killed on 2 November 1918, only nine days before the armistice ends the war. This
is why Maxi never gets to know her father.
Vera is not happy
at Poenichen. She returns to Berlin, leaving her daughter with her
grandparents. Maxi is raised by her grandparents who take good care of her. Vera
visits from time to time, but Maxi and her mother are never close.
This is how the
story begins, and this is where my presentation ends.
If you want to
know what happens to Maxi and the people around her, you will have to watch the
drama (or read the books) all the way to the end.
What do reviewers
say about it?
Here are some results:
On IMDb it has a
rating of 77 percent.
On Amazon Germany there
are at the moment 292 ratings of this product; 51 with reviews.
The average rating
is 4.7 stars which corresponds to a rating of 94 percent.
If you ask me,
both ratings are too high.
Why?
This drama is more
than thirty years old, and sometimes it shows, especially in the beginning.
When you watch the first episode, it feels a bit dated. But after a while you
will get used to it, and soon you will no longer notice; you will no longer
think about it.
The story will capture
your attention. When you get to the end of one episode, you will want to watch
the next episode in order to find out what happens.
While the drama
captured my attention, I do not think it is perfect. There are several flaws, and some of
them are quite serious. Let me explain:
# 1. The main
character Maxi is played by three different actors:
(A) Annika Frölich
plays Maxi when she is about four years old. She is blonde and has a pretty
face.
(B) Anne-Kathrin
Maetzig plays Maxi when she is about 12 years old. She is blonde and has a
pretty face.
(C) Ulrike
Bliefert portrays Maxi as a teenager and as an adult woman. She has red hair
and freckles.
The first two actors
are well-chosen. They look alike. The first one leads right to the second. The
transition is smooth. But the third
actress is not well-chosen. She does not look like the first two. The
transition does not work.
Ulrike Bliefert is
miscast, which is a serious problem, because she plays the leading character in
this drama. I wonder why she was chosen to play this part.
# 2. Maxi marries
Viktor. Why? He is not her type! Maxi is a warm person who cares about other
people, while Viktor is a cold fish who only cares about the glory of his
country. Why does she pick him? And why does he pick her?
From the very
start, it is clear that these two persons have nothing in common except the family name: she
is a Quindt (spelled with the letter d), while he is a Quint (without the
letter d).
This marriage is not realistic. It does not belong in a drama which wants
to be realistic.
# 3. Maxi refuses
to talk to her oldest son Moshe about her father. Why? Moshe met his father,
but only briefly. When he grows up, he wants to know more about him (which is
quite natural). Maxi could tell him what he wants to know, but she refuses to
give him a real answer.
This is odd. Otherwise,
she does not try to hide or cover up the past. Otherwise, she is quite open
about Viktor and his career in the Nazi Party. Her behaviour is odd. It does
not fit with what we know about Maxi.
# 4. When Viktor comes to Poenichen for the first time, he is offered a glass of wine. He refuses,
saying:
“I do not drink
alcohol!”
But later, when
Maxi visits Viktor in Berlin, we see him drinking a glass of wine!
When Maxi wants to
have a glass of wine, he admonishes her:
“You should not
drink alcohol in your condition!”
She is pregnant at
the time.
As you can see,
the story is inconsistent. First, Viktor claims he never drinks alcohol; later,
he drinks wine, but Maxi is not surprised. And she does not point out that he
is breaking his own rule. In movie terminology, this is known as a mistake in
continuity.
# 5. In episode 26
(set in 1956), Maxi and her children are taking a road trip across the US, from
coast to coast. At one point, the road is blocked by a garbage truck, so they
stop their car and enter a coffee shop to have a drink while they are waiting
for the truck to move to the side.
When they return
to their car, they discover that all four tyres have been slashed! For a few
seconds we see them trying to push the car. But in the next scene, they are
driving again. As if nothing ever happened. Apparently, they found a car shop
and they had all four tyres replaced, but we never see how they managed to do
this.
Why is this scene
included? We only see the problem. We never see the solution. Something is missing here!
If the director does
not want to show us how the problem was solved, he should have dropped the
whole scene. This is a case of poor editing.
# 6. In episodes
33 and 34 (set in 1967-68), Maxi meets and falls in love with an artist whose name is
Ossian.
According to the narrator, Ossian is much younger than Maxi, but
something is wrong here: Matthias Ponnier, who plays Ossian, was born in 1940,
while Ulrike Bliefert, who plays Maxi, was born in 1951.
In the real world,
he is much older than her, but in the drama, he is supposed to be much younger
than her!
This is silly! Why
did the director choose this actor to play Ossian? Was it impossible to find an actor
who was younger than Ulrike?
As stated above,
Ulrike is miscast as Maxi. Now we can see that this is not the only case:
Matthias Ponnier
is miscast as Ossian, but he plays only a minor role (appearing in 2 episodes),
while she plays the main role (appearing in more than 25 episodes).
# 7. In episode 36
(set in 1976), Maxi takes a trip to Poland. She wants to visit Pommern in order to see
what it looks like now, more than thirty years after the end of the war. I will
not offer any details about this trip. I will merely say it is not successful.
Since this is the
final episode, it means the drama does not have a successful conclusion.
What a shame!
Conclusion
This could have
been a great drama. Unfortunately, it is not. It is not even good. It is
average. As you can see, there are some flaws which cannot be ignored.
I have to remove two
stars because of these flaws. This drama deserves a rating of three stars (60
percent).
PS. Regarding the
language: as stated earlier, the language in this drama is German. But occasionally another
language is spoken: English, French, Swedish or even Polish!
When this happens
there are no subtitles.
However, this is
not a big problem.
There is a bigger
problem.
There are no subtitles on the special DVD version which was released in 2017.
There should be
German subtitles for those who are hard of hearing and for those who want to
improve their German language skills. And there should be English subtitles for
the foreign market.But there are no subtitles at all.
What a shame!
*****
Jauche und Levkojen
A historical novel
By Christine
Brückner
(1975)
*****
Nirgendwo is Poenichen
A Historical novel
By Christine
Brückner
(1977)
*****
Die Quints
A historical novel
By Christine
Brückner
(1985)
*****
