- The Ninth Day
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The Ninth Day Directed by Volker Schlöndorff Produced by Jürgen Haase
Wolfgang Plehn
Jean-Claude SchlimWritten by Eberhard Görner
Andreas PflügerStarring Ulrich Matthes
August Diehl
Bibiana BeglauDistributed by Kino International Release date(s) Germany:
November 11, 2004
United States:
May 27, 2005Running time 90 minutes Country Germany
Luxembourg
Czech RepublicLanguage German The Ninth Day is a German film, made in 2004 and directed by Volker Schlöndorff. It was released by Kino International.
The film is about a Catholic priest from Luxembourg who is imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp, but released for nine days. The story is based on a portion of Pfarrerblock 25487 (ISBN 2-87963-286-2), the diary of Father Jean Bernard (1907–1994). "Pfarrerblock 25487" was recently translated into English by Deborah Lucas Schneider. The English-language translation is entitled "Priestblock 25487: A Memoir of Dachau" (ISBN 978-0972598170) and was released in 2007.
Plot
Henri Kremer, a Catholic priest from Luxemburg, is imprisoned in Dachau. He experiences the horrors of the camps, including the crucifixion of some of his fellow prisoners, when one day he is given an unexpected leave of nine days. He returns to his native city, where the young SS officer Gebhardt tells him that he should convince his bishop to cooperate with the Nazis. Gebhardt, himself a former candidate for the priesthood, tries to convice the priest that the role of Judas is just what God wants from him. Kremer is confronted with a hard decision: Should he betray his Church or should he return to the concentration camp?
External links
- The Ninth Day web site
- Press Book
- The Ninth Day Web site in Luxembourg
- The Ninth Day at the Internet Movie Database
- H. Marcuse's page comparing film and memoir
- Detailed review in Opuszine
- Decentfilms.com review
Films directed by Volker Schlöndorff Fiction films Young Törless · A Degree of Murder · Man on Horseback · Baal · Sudden Wealth of the Poor People of Kombach · Morals of Ruth Halbfass · A Free Woman · Übernachtung in Tirol · The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum · Coup de Grâce · Germany in Autumn · The Tin Drum · The Circle of Deceit · War and Peace · Swann in Love · Death of a Salesman · A Gathering of Old Men · The Handmaid's Tale · Voyager · The Ogre · Palmetto · The Legend of Rita · The Ninth Day · Enigma - Eine uneingestandene Liebe · Strike · UlzhanDocumentaries Nur zum Spaß, nur zum Spiel · The Candidate · The Michael Nyman Songbook · Ein Produzent hat Seele oder er hat keine · Billy Wilder SpeaksCinema of Germany Film chronology · German Empire 1895–1918 · Weimar Germany 1919–1933 · Nazi Germany 1933–1945 · East Germany (1945–1990) ·
(West) Germany 1945–present · 1945-1959 · 1960s · 1970s · 1980s · 1990s · 2000s · 2010s
Actors · Directors · Films A–Z · Cinematographers · Festivals · Producers · Composers · ScreenwritersCategories:- German-language films
- 2004 films
- German films
- Films directed by Volker Schlöndorff
- World War II films
- War film stubs
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