Reunion (1989 film)

1989 British film

Reunion

Poster for Reunion 1989

Directed by| Jerry Schatzberg
Screenplay by| Harold Pinter
Based on| the novel by Fred Uhlman
Produced by| Anne Francois
Starring| Jason Robards
Samuel West
Christien Anholt
Françoise Fabian
Cinematography| Bruno De Keyzer
Edited by| Martine Barraque
Music by| Philippe Sarde
Distributed by| Rank Film Distributors Ltd

Release date

* 6 July 1989 (1989-07-06) (UK release)

Running time

| 110 minutes
Countries| United Kingdom
France
West Germany
Language| English

Reunion is a 1989 British drama film based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Fred Uhlman, directed by Jerry Schatzberg from a screenplay by Harold Pinter. It stars Jason Robards. The film was released in France under the title L' Ami Retrouvé and in Germany as Der wiedergefundene Freund.[1]

The story is centred on the "enchanted friendship" of two teenagers in 1933 English-speaking Germany. Hans Strauss (Christien Anholt) is the son of a Jewish doctor and Konradin Von Lohenburg (Samuel West) is from an aristocratic family. The background is the rise of Nazism. Jason Robards plays the older Hans in the 1970s as he prepares to travel to Germany for the first time since the 1930s.[2] The film was shot on location in Berlin, New York and Stuttgart.[3] Reunion was nominated for a Golden Palm at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.[4]

## Plot

[edit]

American lawyer Henry Strauss (Robards) is preparing to return to Germany for the first time since he left in 1933 following Adolf Hitler's rise to power. He is seeking to renew an "enchanting friendship" of his youth with aristocrat Konradin Von Lohenburg (West).

Strauss was the son of a Jewish doctor and the friends did not see that around them the rise of Nazism would lead to their separation. Their travels together and philosophical discussions against the elegant background of 1930s Stuttgart form the main part of the film, told in flashback.

The older Henry's search for his childhood friend leads to a startling revelation as he discovers what became of Konradin after Hitler took power.

## Cast

[edit]

* Jason Robards as Henry (formerly Hans) Strauss, as an old man
* Christien Anholt as Hans Strauss, as a young man
* Samuel West as Count Konradin von Lohenburg
* Françoise Fabian as Countess von Lohenburg, Konradin's mother
* Jacques Brunet as Count von Lohenburg, Konradin's father
* Bert Parnaby as Dr. Jakob Strauss, Hans' father
* Barbara Jefford as Frau Strauss, Hans' mother
* Shebah Ronay as Countess Gertrud, as a young woman
* Dorothea Alexander as Countess Gertrud, as an old woman
* Maureen Kerwin as Lisa, Henry's daughter
* Frank Baker - The Zionist
* Tim Barker as Zimmermann, a teacher
* Imke Barnstedt as Girl in Tax Building
* Gideon Boulting as Prince Hubertus
* Alan Bowyer as Bollacher
* Rupert Degas as Muller
* Robert Dietl \- Gardener at Old Grafin's
* Nicholas Pandolfi as Reutter
* Roland Schäfer [de] as Judge Freisler on TV

## Critical reception

[edit]

* Time Out said of the film - "This moving rendition of Fred Uhlman's novel, about boyhood friendship betrayed under the destructive momentum of Nazism, shows Schatzberg at his (albeit limited) best." "Harold Pinter's tight and unobtrusive script, Trauner's fine production design and Philippe Sarde's muted but expressive score ensure a feeling of all-round professionalism."[5]
* The New York Times said "'Reunion' is gratifying in the small ways most familiar from public-television's depictions of English upper-class behavior. The offhanded elegance of its settings, and the attractive crispness of its schoolboy manners ("Oh, he just rants and raves, doesn't he?" one of the film's cavalier young characters says about Hitler) are a major part of its gently decorative appeal."[2]
* Channel 4 said "Nothing in Schatzberg's filmography makes the heart leap, but this film - adapted by Pinter from an autobiographical novel by Ulman - stands out above the rest. It's a quietly decent film that takes place primarily (via a flashback) in the early 1930s."[6]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ "Reunion (1989)". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
2. ^ a b Masun, Janet (15 March 1991). "Film; Memories Both Painful And Pretty In 'Reunion'". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
3. ^ "Reunion - 1991 - Jason Robards, Jerry Schatzberg - Variety Profiles". www.variety.com. Retrieved 20 March 2009. [dead link]
4. ^ "Reunion : Film details 1989". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
5. ^ "Reunion Review". Time Out London. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
6. ^ "Reunion Movie Review (1989)". Channel 4 Film. Retrieved 20 March 2009.

## External links

[edit]

* Reunion at IMDb
* Reunion at the TCM Movie Database
* Reunion at Rotten Tomatoes
* Presentation of the film by Jerry Schatzberg Festival Lumière, October 2013

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Jerry Schatzberg

* Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1970)
* The Panic in Needle Park (1971)
* Scarecrow (1973)
* Sweet Revenge (1976)
* The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)
* Honeysuckle Rose (1980)
* Misunderstood (1983)
* No Small Affair (1984)
* Street Smart (1987)
* Clinton and Nadine (1988)
* Reunion (1989)
* The Day the Ponies Come Back (2000)

* v
* t
* e

Harold Pinter

Plays|

* The Room (1957)
* The Birthday Party (1957)
* The Dumb Waiter (1957)
* A Slight Ache (1958)
* The Hothouse (1958)
* The Caretaker (1959)
* A Night Out (1959)
* Night School (1960)
* The Collection (1961)
* The Lover (1962)
* Tea Party (1964)
* The Homecoming (1964)
* The Basement (1966)
* Landscape (1967)
* Silence (1968)
* Old Times (1970)
* No Man's Land (1974)
* Betrayal (1978)
* Family Voices (1980)
* A Kind of Alaska (1982)
* Victoria Station (1982)
* One for the Road (1984)
* Mountain Language (1988)
* Moonlight (1993)
* Ashes to Ashes (1996)
* Celebration (1999)
* Remembrance of Things Past (2000)

Dramatic sketches|

* Trouble in the Works (1959)
* Applicant (1959)
* Night (1969)
* Precisely (1983)

Screenplays|

* A Night Out (1961)
* The Caretaker (1963)
* The Servant (1963)
* The Pumpkin Eater (1964)
* The Quiller Memorandum (1966)
* Accident (1967)
* The Birthday Party (1968)
* The Homecoming (1969)
* Langrishe, Go Down (1970)
* The Go-Between (1971)
* The Last Tycoon (1976)
* The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
* Betrayal (1983)
* Turtle Diary (1984)
* Reunion (1989)
* The Comfort of Strangers (1990)
* The Handmaid's Tale (1990)
* The Trial (1993)
* The Dreaming Child (1997)
* The Tragedy of King Lear (2000)
* Sleuth (2007)

Related articles|

* Works
* Bibliography
* Characteristics
* Honours and awards
* Relationship with academia
* Harold Pinter Archive
* Harold Pinter and politics
* Art, Truth and Politics
* Pinter's People

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