''A Dream, What Else?'' () is a 1995 Austrian-German drama film written and directed by

Hans-Jürgen Syberberg Hans-Jürgen Syberberg (; born 8 December 1935) is a German film director, whose best known film is his lengthy feature ''Hitler: A Film from Germany''. Early life Born in Nossendorf, Province of Pomerania (1815–1945), Pomerania, the son of ...

. It stars

Edith Clever Edith Clever (born 13 December 1940, in Wuppertal) is a German actress. Filmography *1976: ' *1976: Die Marquise von O. ('' Die Marquise von O'') *1978: Die linkshändige Frau ('' The Left-Handed Woman'') *1979: Mädchenjahre ('' L'Adolescent ...

as Sybille von Bismarck, the daughter-in-law of

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

Plot

The film consists of a monologue where the main character, aged and widowed, mourns the defeat of Prussia at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She recites from ''

The Trojan Women ''The Trojan Women'' (, lit. "The Female Trojans") is a tragedy by the Ancient Greece, Greek playwright Euripides, produced in 415 BCE. Also translated as ''The Women of Troy,'' or as its transliterated Greek title ''Troades, The Trojan Women'' ...

'' by

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

, '' The Prince of Homburg'' by

Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (; 18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays ''The Prince of Homburg'', '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'' ...

and '' Faust: Part II'' (1832) by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

Production

The monologue was first performed on stage in Berlin in 1990 and toured several countries during the following years. The film was shot in the summer 1994 at Szene-Theater in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, Austria, for Szene Salzburg and ORF. It was produced through Syberberg's German company TMS Film.

References

External links

* 1990s historical drama films 1995 films Films based on works by Euripides Films based on works by Heinrich von Kleist Films based on Goethe's Faust Films directed by Hans-Jürgen Syberberg Films shot in Austria Films set in Germany Austrian historical drama films German historical drama films 1990s German-language films German World War II films Films set in 1945 Monodrama 1995 drama films Modern adaptations of works by Euripides 1990s German films German-language historical drama films {{historic-film-stub