Charité is a historical drama which premiered on German television (ARD) in 2017.
So far, there are three seasons:
** Season 1 = six episodes (2017)
(The story begins in 1888)
** Season 2 = six episodes (2019)
(The story is set in 1943-1945)
** Season 3 = six episodes (2021)
(The story is set in 1961)
This historical drama is built around the Charité, the most famous hospital in Berlin.
Here is some basic information about season 1:
** Director: Sönke Wortmann
** Writers: Dorothee Schön & Sabine Thor-Wiedemann
** Soundtrack: German
** Subtitles: German (ARD)
** Subtitles: English (Netflix)
** Run time: 6 x ca. 50 minutes = ca. 300 minutes
The cast includes the following:
** Alicia von Rittberg as Ida Lenze (nurse)
** Maximilian Meyer-Bretschneider as Georg Tischendorf (medical student)
** Justus von Dohnanyi as Robert Koch (1843-1910) (doctor)
** Matthias Koeberlin as Emil von Behring (1854-1917) (doctor)
** Ernst Stötzner as Rudolf Virchow (1821-1902) (doctor)
** Matthias Brenner as Ernst von Bergmann (1836-1907) (doctor)
** Christoph Bach as Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915) (doctor)
** Thomas Loibl as Bernhard Spinola (1836-1900) (hospital administrator)
** Emilia Schüle as Hedwig Freiberg (1872-1945) (actress and singer)
** Lucas Prisor as Wilhelm II (Emperor of Germany 1888-1918)
** Ramona Kunze-Libnow as Martha (matron)
** Tanja Schleiff as Edith (nurse)
** Monika Oschek as Stine (nurse)
While this drama is inspired by real events, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. The gallery of characters is a combination of real and fictional persons. In the chart above, the first two and the last three characters are fictional, while the eight characters who are listed in the middle are real historical persons.
I do not wish to spoil the viewing for anyone. Therefore, I am not going to reveal too much about what happens in this drama. I will only tell you how the story begins.
The Charité was (and still is) the most famous hospital in Berlin. In the first season of this series, we follow the lives and careers of the people who worked in this place during the final years of the 19th century.
The story begins in 1888, which is known as the year of three emperors. The first emperor Wilhelm I dies on 9 March. His successor Friedrich III rules for less than 100 days, from 9 March to 15 June. His successor Wilhelm II rules from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918, when the monarchy is abolished and replaced by a republic.
In this drama we follow not only staff (doctors and nurses) and patients. We also get to meet some of the people who are on the outside, such as the German Emperor Wilhelm II, who pays an official visit to the hospital, and actress Hedwig Freiberg, who catches the eye of Robert Koch.
Ida Lenze is admitted to the hospital as a patient. She is a poor servant, and since she cannot pay her bill, she must stay and work as a nurse in order to pay for her treatment.
While working as a nurse, she decides that she wants to study medicine and become a doctor. It is a dream that seems highly unrealistic: at the time women were not allowed to study medicine in Germany.
The fictional character Ida is introduced for dramatic reasons, because she is a woman who has ambitions and who is ahead of her time. We see how the people around her respond when she talks about her hopes and her drams.
We also see how the (male) doctors conduct their research and experiments, hoping to find a cure for a deadly disease. These doctors have high ambitions, not only for their patients, but also for themselves: they wish to become famous in the medical establishment.
This is how the story begins, and this is where my presentation ends. If you wish to find out what happens to Ida and the people around her, you must watch the whole season all the way to the end.
What do reviewers say about this drama? On the German version of Amazon there are at the moment 242 ratings of this product. The average rating is 4.8 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 96 percent. If you ask me, this average rating is too high.
On IMDb this drama has a rating of 78 per cent, which corresponds to almost four stars on Amazon. If you ask me, this average rating is more appropriate.
The story is captivating, dramatic, and emotional. In addition, it is inspired by real events. But it is not perfect. It has a flaw. In my opinion, the people behind this historical drama attempt to do too much in a relatively short time.
They wish to cover not only the medical research conducted by the doctors, but also their personal lives. As a result, some parts of the story become superficial. It feels a bit rushed. There is not enough time to develop all the characters in the gallery.
I like this drama and I want to give it a good rating, but I have to remove one star because of this flaw. Therefore, I think it deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).
REFERENCES
Berühmte Ärzte der Charité
A series of six movies about famous doctors who worked in the Charité hospital plus bonus material (2 sections) on 4 discs. Total run time: 755 minutes.
These six movies were produced in East Germany and shown on East German television 1981-1983. They were released on DVD in 2011.
Dr Hope: Eine Frau gibt nicht auf
A miniseries in two parts about Hope Bridges Adams Lehmann (1855-1916), who was the first female doctor in Germany. It was shown on German television (ZFD) in 2009 and released on DVD in 2010.
Die Charité – Geschichten von Leben und Tod
A documentary film which premiered on German television (ARD) in 2017. It is a companion to the historical drama.
** Director: Dagmar Wittners.
** Run time: 45 minutes.
The ARD website has a special section devoted to the Charité where you can find additional information about the hospital and the doctors who worked there.
*****
Charité
Season 1
(ARD) (2017)
*****
On this blog
My review of
Dr Hope:
Eine Frau gibt nicht auf
*****
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