Rommel - a historical drama about the well-known German military officer Field Marshall Erwin Rommel - premiered on German television (ARD) in 2012.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Written and directed by Niki Stein
** Language: German
** Run time: 118 minutes
What about subtitles?
In 2012, this drama was released on DVD by Universum Film. This version has no subtitles.
In 2017, it was released on DVD by Second Sight Films. This version has English subtitles.
The cast includes the following:
The first group
** Ulrich Tukur as Erwin Rommel (1891-1944)
** Aglaia Szyszkowitz as Lucia-Maria Rommel (1894-1971) – Rommel’s wife
** Patrick Mölleken as Manfred Rommel (1928-2013) – Rommel’s son
** Tim Bergman as Caesar von Hofacker (1896-1944)
The second group
** Rolf Kanies as Eberhard Finckh (1899-1944)
** Hanns Zischler as Gerd von Rundstedt (1875-1953)
** Benjamin Sadler as Dr Hans Speidel (1897-1984)
** Hubertus Hartmann as Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel (1886-1944)
The third group
** Klaus J. Behrendt as Heinz Guderian (1888-1954)
** Peter Wolf as Ernst Kaltenbrunner (1903-1946)
** Johannes Silberschneider as Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)
** Vicky Krieps as
Comtesse Yvonne de la Rochefoucauld (1902-1998)
Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. This is why I feel free to mention some of them here.
While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here, but the basic story is true.
Some details of Rommel’s life are not known with certainty. They can be interpreted in different ways. These details are still being discussed today, several decades after his death.
This drama is about Erwin Rommel, but it does not cover his whole life. It covers only the last seven months of his life, i.e. the time from March to October 1944.
The drama begins on 14 October 1944, the last day of his life. From this moment in time, the story of the previous seven months is told in a series of flashbacks.
There are also a few clips about the military campaign in North Africa (1940-1943) during which Rommel was given the nickname “the Desert Fox.”
What do reviewers say about this drama?
On IMDb it has a rating of 66 per cent.
On Amazon Germany there are at the moment more than 300 ratings of this product, including more than 90 with reviews.
The
average rating is 4.5 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 90 percent.
Some reviewers praise this drama. They say it offers a realistic portrait of the famous Field Marshall.
Others claim it is distorted. They say it has nothing to do with the real story.
What is the reason for this strong disagreement? Different reviewers have different interpretations of Rommel’s role in the failed attack on Hitler’s life in July 1944.
Was Rommel involved in the conspiracy? Did he know about it? Or was he innocent? Was his name merely dragged into the investigation after the attack had failed? There is no clear answer; no clear evidence.
What does the drama say about this question?
I think the movie-makers handle it very well.
Some conspirators want to include Rommel, because he is powerful and popular. But he says he does not want to be involved in a violent attack on Hitler.
Does he know about the attack? Probably not. Does he know that something is going to happen? Probably yes, but he does not know any details about it.
When the attack fails and an investigation begins, his name is mentioned by some of those who were involved.
When his name is mentioned, he is suddenly involved; it is impossible to clear his name.
He knew something was going to happen, but failed to report this knowledge to the authorities. For this omission, Nazi Germany regards him as guilty.
But Hitler does not want to tell the German people that Rommel has betrayed him. Rommel is too popular, too respected.
This is why Hitler makes him an offer he cannot refuse: if he commits suicide, he will be given a state funeral and his family will be spared.
Rommel takes the deal.
As far as I can see, there is no reason to blame this drama for presenting a false account of Rommel’s involvement in the conspiracy to kill Hitler.
But I have another complaint against this drama: there are too many characters around Rommel. And they all look the same, because they are wearing uniforms.
It is not easy to find out who is who and how they are connected with each other.
These people do not mention any names when they meet, because they already know each other.
For the viewer, the multitude of characters who look so much alike is rather confusing.
There is an easy solution to this problem: an on-screen message can be used to identify each person the first time he or she appears. It is a shame this method was not used in this drama. This is a flaw.
I like this drama and I want to give it a good rating, but I have to remove one star because of the flaw mentioned above.
This drama is good but not great. It deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).
PS # 1. The following item is available online:
“Death of the Desert Fox: Rommel’s son’s account of his father’s last moments after Hitler ordered him to take a cyanide pill or be arrested,”
Daily Mail
30 December 2012
PS # 2. Some reviewers do not like this movie, because it is in German. This complaint is absurd. This drama is about a German character. If it was in English, it would be highly unrealistic.
Some reviewers complain about the subtitles. They say they cannot watch the drama and read the subtitles at the same time. This complaint is absurd.
In small countries - such as Denmark, Norway and Sweden - people are used to watching a foreign movie and reading subtitles at the same time. Nobody complains about this.
PS # 3. Ulrich Tukur is a well-known German actor who has appeared in several movies, including the following:
** Nicolaikirche (1995)
** Das Leben der Anderen (2006)
** John Rabe (2009)
** Grzimek (2015)
** Gestern waren wir noch Kinder (2023)
*****
The well-known German military officer
Field Marshall
Erwin Rommel
(1891-1944)
*****
Manfred Rommel
(1928-2013)
son of Erwin Rommel
He became a West German politician
He was a member of the CDU
He was the mayor of Stuttgart
for more than 20 years (1974-1996)
*****
Rommel
A documentary film which premiered on
German television (ARD) in 2012
Released on DVD
by Second Sights Films
in 2017
This version has English subtitles
*****
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