The Minister - DVD

Content: It was the biggest political scandal in recent history when Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, great hope of the CSU and political wunderkind, lost not only his doctorate but also all his political offices in the wake of a plagiarism affair. His career in the German Bundestag was steep, but also extremely short. And it provides the perfect material for a political satire. Producer Nico Hofmann also realized this, and together with director Uwe Janson they crafted the TV comedy Der Minister out of the scandalous story.

However, the film is of course not a serious and accurate treatment of the events, but rather a free interpretation with some satirical sideswipes at politics and the media. At the center of the comedy is Franz Ferdinand von und zu Donnersberg (Kai Schumann), who already had his difficulties putting his own ideas on paper as a schoolboy. His best friend Max Drexel (Johann von Bülow) has been at his side as a ghostwriter ever since. Franz Ferdinand would never have managed school and university without Max's help. And so it is only natural that he also realizes his political ambitions with Max at his side. While Franz Ferdinand and his wife Viktoria (Alexandra Neldel) are able to win over at least the tabloid press with their charisma, Max's words also ensure that the young politician's political reputation is increasingly enhanced. But Franz Ferdinand is unable to make a real impression, especially on Chancellor Murkel (Katharina Thalbach). But there is a solution to this problem as well: Franz Ferdinand needs a doctorate. Max actually manages to get his buddy a doctorate and a short time later he is already appointed minister. But this is where the problems really begin.

The Minister scores primarily with its cast. Kai Schumann is not only visually an excellent casting for the plagiarism minister and also Alexandra Neldel convinces in this rather comedic role all along the line. A wonderfully smarmy Thomas Heinze and a Walter Sittler, brilliant in his small role as the imperious father, are just as convincing as the actual leading man Johann von Bülow, whose rather grounded and actually completely normal Max is a perfect counterweight to Franz Ferdinand von und zu Donnersberg and the whole political circus surrounding him. In some moments, these well-chosen actors are also allowed to act with refreshing bite, which in its best scenes makes the comedy an absolutely spot-on satire on the Guttenberg scandal, on German politics and also on the media world.

However, unfortunately, this bite is far too infrequent. Too often, the comedy relies on the fact that even the slight change of names of those involved or of well-known TV channels and press organs is enough to make the audience laugh. But it is here that the script demonstrates far less originality and cleverness than is evident in the successful scenes. To make the Murkel out of Chancellor Merkel is just as unwise as simply adding a few more numbers to RTL II. The viewers would have surely even with a slightly more subtle implementation still recognized who or what is just parodied here.

The Minister therefore leaves a somewhat ambivalent impression in the end. On the one hand an excellently acted satire with really funny moments, on the other hand a somewhat too flat realization and a lack of courage to be malicious. Nevertheless, the obvious enjoyment of the actors and the successful scenes are enough to make the film, despite its weaknesses and missed opportunities, on balance still worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The film produced for Sat1 has an absolutely satisfactory picture and sound quality for a TV comedy. Visually, the whole thing convinces with a good to very good overall sharpness and a warm, powerful color scheme. The sound, which is not unusual for this genre, has mainly dialogue and music to offer, but these are powerfully realized and well-matched, which is why the otherwise rather restrained Dolby Digital 5.1 mix leaves a very positive impression. Good.

Extras: In addition to a worth seeing Making of (approx. 14 min.) the DVD still has nearly 4 minutes of cut scenes and 6 minutes of sometimes more, sometimes less amusing outtakes to offer. Furthermore there are three short clips. In them, Chancellor Murkel talks about intellectual property (approx. 0:37 min.) and Franz Ferdinand gives an interview (approx. 2 min.) and educates the viewers about copyright (approx. 1 min.).

Conclusion: The Minister is an amusing satire that never quite fulfills its existing potential, however. Kai Schumann is really perfectly cast in the lead role and the rest of the cast is also there with obvious good humor, which significantly increases the entertainment value of the comedy. A little more bite wouldn't have hurt the whole thing, though. The DVD presents the TV movie in a good technical realization, the additional material is clear, but quite worth seeing. If you like German comedies with a satirical touch, you shouldn't miss this film, which of course only coincidentally reminds you of real events. Recommended

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp