''Elective Affinities'' () is a 1974 East German drama film directed by

Siegfried Kühn Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

. It follows the dynamics which follow when a couple invite two other people. The film is based on

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

's 1809 novel ''

Elective Affinities ''Elective Affinities'' (German: ''Die Wahlverwandtschaften''), also translated under the title ''Kindred by Choice'', is the third novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, published in 1809. Situated around the city of Weimar, the book relates the ...

''. It was released by the DEFA film studio on 27 August 1974.

Cast

Beata Tyszkiewicz Beata Maria Helena Tyszkiewicz (born 14 August 1938) is a retired Polish actress and TV personality. Career Beata Tyszkiewicz has worked mostly on the big screen but acted in several French TV movies, becoming famous through her portrayal of d ...

as Charlotte *

Hilmar Thate Hilmar Thate (17 April 1931 – 14 September 2016) was a German actor. He appeared in 40 films and television shows between 1955 and 2016. Filmography References External links * 1931 births 2016 deaths German male film actors G ...

as Eduard * Magda Vasary as Ottilie *

Gerry Wolff Gerry Wolff (23 June 1920 – 16 February 2005) was a German actor. He was born in Bremen (city), Bremen, Germany and died in Oranienburg, Brandenburg, Germany. Selected filmography * ''Bärenburger Schnurre'' (1957) * ''Naked among Wolves (f ...

as the Captain *

Horst Schulze Horst Schulze (26 April 1921 – 24 October 2018) was a German actor and opera singer. He was born in Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Sa ...

as Mittler *

Christine Schorn Christine Schorn (born 1 February 1944) is a German actress. Schorn has appeared in multiple films and TV shows including '' Apprehension'' (1982), ''According to the Plan'' (2007) and ''Das Leben ist nichts für Feiglinge ''Life Is Not for C ...

as Baroness * Volkmar Kleinert as Count * Jana Plichtová as Luciane *

Nico Turoff Nico Turoff (Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and ...

as gardener * Jost Braun as architect

Reception

The journal ''Film-Dienst'' wrote: "In the historical scenography and in the dialogue, the film misses the issues of the original work; shortenings and tightenings occasionally make the developments incomprehensible. What in Goethe is presented as a clash of moral and natural laws, appears in the film as a questioning of norms, moral and ethics of civil marriage. For literature fans still a remarkable contribution."

References

External links

* 1974 films 1974 drama films German drama films East German films Films based on German novels Films based on works by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Films set in the 1800s 1970s German-language films 1970s German films {{1970s-Germany-film-stub