Klassenverhältnisse

Class Relations
Directed by	Jean-Marie Straub Danièle Huillet
Written by	Franz Kafka (novel)
Starring	Christian Heinisch Mario Adorf Nazzareno Bianconi Harun Farocki
Cinematography	William Lubtchansky Caroline Champetier Christophe Pollock
Editing by	Danièle Huillet Jean-Marie Straub
Release date(s)	21 February 1984
Running time	126 minutes
Country	Germany/France
Language	German

Klassenverhältnisse, known in English as Class Relations, in French as Amerika, rapports de classe, is a 1984 film by the French filmmaking duo of Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet. It is based on Franz Kafka's unfinished first novel, Amerika.

The German filmmaker Harun Farocki appears as one of the leads, and the film also features a cameo from American experimental filmmaker Thom Andersen.

A documentary was made about the filming process, Jean-Marie Straub und Danièle Huillet bei der Arbeit an einem Film.

Cast

• Christian Heinisch as Karl Roßmann
• Nazzareno Bianconi as Giacomo
• Mario Adorf as Der Onkel
• Laura Betti as Brunelda
• Harun Farocki as Delamarche
• Manfred Blank as Robinson
• Reinald Schnell as Der Heizer
• Anna Schnell as Line
• Klaus Traube as Der kapitän
• Hermann Hartmann as Der Oberkassier
• Gérard Semaan as Schubal
• Jean-François Quinque as Der Stewart
• Villi Vöbel as Pollunder

Style

As Franz Kafka never visited the United States, the film was intentionally shot in Europe, with the bulk of shooting occurring in Germany. During the opening scene, the replica of the Statue of Liberty located on the Seine in Paris is used as a stand-in for the real Statue of Liberty, and the film features prominently architecture, flora and costuming (including a policeman in a bobby helmet) that is unlikely to be found in the United States. Though Huillet and Straub are both French, the film was shot in German, the language the original book was written in.

Awards

The film was entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival where it won an Honourable Mention.^[1]

References

1. ^ "Berlinale: 1984 Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1984/03_preistr_ger_1984/03_Preistraeger_1984.html. Retrieved 4 January 2011. 

External links

• Klassenverhältnisse at the Internet Movie Database