Margarethe von Trotta Retrospective: Rosa Luxemburg

Rosa Luxemburg [OmeU], Germany 1986, directed by Margarethe von Trotta with Barbara Sukowa, Daniel Olbrychski, Otto Sander, 123 min, presented by the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein

Followed by a discussion with Klaus Theweleit (cultural theorist, Freiburg) and Margarethe von Trotta, moderated by Marius Babias (Director, nbk) In German

In a prison, 1916: Polish-Jewish doctor and social democrat Rosa Luxemburg (Barbara Sukowa) is about to be executed. Twenty years earlier, the young woman fought for a democratic government in Germany and for the revolution in Poland. Her enormous political talent is recognized; she works closely with her companion Leo Jogiches (Daniel Olbrychski), writes scholarly works, and romp with her young lover (Hannes Jaenicke), the son of Clara Zetkin (Doris Schade), who is 15 years her junior. But her political activities begin to jeopardize her personal relationships. As international tensions rise, Rosa Luxemburg gives speeches condemning war and militarism, seeming too radical for some socialists. With the outbreak of the First World War, she and Karl Liebknecht (Otto Sander) are united in the opposition.