THE FIRE
synopsis
Judith and her long-term partner Georg love to go salsa dancing. But with Georg having to bow out at the last minute, Judith decides to go to the dance event alone and she finds a temporary dance partner in Ralph Nester. Ralph seems like a lucky find. Not only does he spin Judith skillfully on the dance floor, he even offers to accompany her home. A true gentleman. Too late she realizes she was dangerously mistaken: Ralph turns out to be a brutal rapist! Judith does everything in her power to stop the rape from changing her. She follows the advice of her lawyer and presses charges against her attacker. But the destructive consequences of the rape increasingly start to affect her life. Memories of the attack and her desire for punishment of the rapist unavoidably occupy her mind more and more. Her relation to her own body is seriously disturbed, as is her relationship with Georg. When the rapist's lies snuff out Judith's hopes for a trial, she decides to take up the pursuit of justice on her own. She starts to observe the rapist and forces confrontations with him and his family. It seems as if her obsession will lead her to exact her own brutal retribution. But Judith follows a different, radical path to prove the guilt of her attacker and to finally achieve justice.
international title: | The Fire |
original title: | Der Brand |
country: | Germany |
year: | 2011 |
genre: | fiction |
directed by: | Brigitte Maria Bertele |
screenplay: | Johanna Stuttmann |
cast: | Maja Schoene, Mark Waschke, Florian David Fitz, Wotan Wilke Möhring, Ursina Lardi |
cinematography by: | Hans Fromm |
film editing: | Dominique Geisler |
art director: | K.D. Gruber |
music: | Christian Biegai |
producer: | Hartwig Koenig |
production: | Filmsyndikat UG, SWR – Südwestrundfunk |
backing: | MFG Baden-Württemberg |