Joschka and Mr Fischer

Pepe Danquart has established himself as a first-class and celebrated documentary filmmaker in recent years, especially with his sports trilogy Heimspiel, Höllentour and Am Limit. With Joschka und Herr Fischer, the Oscar-winning filmmaker now tries his hand at a political portrait that is also a gripping journey through 60 years of German history.

For the presentation, Danquart has come up with something very special. From many hours of archive material, some of which had never been shown, he edited 24 short films that were projected in a continuous loop onto glass walls. Joschka Fischer, not knowing what he was being shown, was then led in front of the walls and simply began to talk. About his childhood, his career as a 68 activist, his time as a taxi driver in Frankfurt, his first steps as a politician, his professional rise from Hessian environment minister to German foreign minister, about his political successes and great defeats. Fischer's stories are interspersed with contributions from a number of contemporary witnesses such as Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Katharina Thalbach.

What makes Joschka and Mr Fischer so successful is the absolute openness Fischer displays in his stories. He is not afraid to admit weaknesses and mistakes, to tell of moments that are not exactly among the most beautiful and pleasant in his life. The film is not a self-portrayal of a politician, but a gripping journey through an exciting life. In the process, Fischer offers insightful glimpses behind the scenes of politics that are otherwise usually denied to ordinary citizens, for example when he tells of his first day as Hesse's environment minister or explains the difficult decisions he had to make right at the beginning of his term as foreign minister.

But also what the viewer learns here about the beginnings of the Greens is extremely interesting, especially in view of the party's current popularity. Admittedly, with a running time of well over two hours, the scissors could well have been applied here and there. As good as the brief excursions are, giving more about the social and political background of each year, some of these features the film doesn't really need. Attention and seat meat of the moviegoers are put to a hard test here. But it's a real tour de force, especially for a documentary, that while the film has a few minor lengths, the viewer never really gets bored.

This is partly due to the great compilation of archival footage, but also to Fischer's engaging narration. Regardless of whether you're on the same wavelength as this man politically, his life, his experiences in politics, and his view of Germany's recent history are definitely worth going to the movies for! Absolutely worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp