From the Family of Reptiles / The Island

“A commissioned work (in between ALICE IN THE CITIES and WRONGE MOVE) for a television series on WDR, A House for Us. FROM THE FAMILY OF REPTILES and THE ISLAND are a complete program in two episodes. After all with Michael Ballhaus as the cinematographer.

Ute (Katja Wulff), an 8 year old girl, constantly runs away from home and the youth center to escape into her own world. She spends many hours at the zoo and especially in front of the crocodil compound…

Monika Brehm (Lisa Kreuzer), the kindergarten teacher, tries to find an entrance into Ute’s world. She realizes that her escapes are a form of withdrawal from her parents and the grown up world.

Monika manages to convince Mr. and Mrs. Hagedorn that their daughter is not mischievous or insidious but that her parents should consult a Psychotherapist with her. But as usual all the therapists are booked out and have a long waiting list for patients. So Ute is left alone once more with her helpless parents and she is more and more drawn to the zoo and her beloved crocodiles.

Thanks to Monika’s sense of responsibility and her commitment, Ute manages to break free from her isolation.”

Format

West Germany 1974
Length: 25 min, 291m
Format: 16mm Color
Language: German


Cast and crew

Production: Bavaria Atelier GmbH (Munich) Director: Wim Wenders Producer: Eva Mieke Screenplay: Philippe Pilliod Director of Photography: Michael Ballhaus Editor: Lillian Seng Sound: Armin Münch Cast: Lisa Kreuzer, Katja Wulff, Thomas Braut, Nicolas Brieger, Marquard Bohm, Helga Trümper, Hansjoachim Krietsch

Music: Arpad Bondy Production Design: Michael Lähn Set Design: Ute Burgmann-Reuter Location Manager: Rainer Nowak Production Manager: Peter Sterr Editorial Office: Hilde Bold By order of: Westdeutsches Werbefernsehen GmbH (WWF) (Cologne) First TV Broadcast (DE): 26.07.1977 WDR World Sales: HanWay Films


Press Sheet (PDF)

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