Brecht

Brecht is a 2019 TV docudrama film, dealing with the life and work of the German playwright Bertolt Brecht. A co-production between Bavaria Fiction in Germany, Satel Film in Austria and MIA Film in the Czech Republic, principal photography occurred in and around Prague from 30 May to 28 July 2017. Formed of two 90-minute parts, it was scripted and directed by Heinrich Breloer, with Tom Schilling and Burghart Klaußner in the title role. It premiered at the Berlinale 2019. Plot The film focusses more on Brecht's relationships with women (namely Paula Banholzer, Marianne Zoff, Helene Weigel, Elisabeth Hauptmann, Ruth Berlau, Käthe Reichel, Regine Lutz and Isot Kilian) than on his plays and poems. It does not mention the term epic theatre (though rehearsal scenes in Part 2 illustrate his working process with the Berliner Ensemble) and his years of exile are skipped – Bresloer has written: "Naturally I would also like to have treated his exile. But that would have been a very particular film and there wasn't enough budget or airtime for it. In my novel about the film, however, exile does come up, especially his time with Margarete Steffin.'' Part of the film consists of an account by Martin Pohl, one of Brecht's Masters students, who was imprisoned for two years – it tells how he was tortured by sleep deprivation and gave a false confession.