Fatherland (1986 film)

Fatherland (released as Singing the Blues in Red in the US) is a 1986 film about a German singer-songwriter, directed by Ken Loach and starring Gerulf Pannach [de], Fabienne Babe [fr], Cristine Rose and Sigfrit Steiner.

Fatherland
DVD cover
Directed byKen Loach
Screenplay byTrevor Griffiths
Produced byRaymond Day
StarringGerulf Pannach
CinematographyChris Menges
Edited byJonathan Morris
Music byChristian Kunert
Gerulf Pannach
Production
companies
Kestrel II
MK2 Productions
Distributed byFilm Four International
Release date
  • 1986 (1986)
Running time
110 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Germany
LanguagesEnglish
German
Budget£884,000

Plot

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Cast

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Production

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Financing

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The film was partly financed by the German television broadcaster ZDF.

Release

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The film is one of Loach's least-popular films, being referred to as "a heavy-handed and absurd political drama" in MIT's newspaper The Tech[1] and Loach said in a 2016 Guardian interview that he "made a mess" of the film.[2] As the film was partly in German, its audience was limited in English-speaking countries. Between its cinematic release and the 2013 DVD release, the film was rare.

When the film was broadcast, they cut the scene in which Gerulf Pannach attacks a Christian Democrat politician for his fascist past. Loach said in an interview, "It was ironic that they should cut the only decent scene in the film."[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Kennth Loach's Looks and Smiles movingly informs British working class - the Tech".
  2. ^ Hattenstone, Simon (15 October 2016). "Ken Loach: 'If you're not angry, what kind of person are you?'". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  3. ^ Fuller, Graham (1998). Loach on Loach. Faber & Faber. p. 62. ISBN 0571179185.
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