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Johann Goethe (Alexander Fehling) and Lotte Buff (Miriam Stein)

Johann Goethe (Alexander Fehling)

Lotte Buff (Miriam Stein)

Johann Goethe (Alexander Fehling)

Director Philipp Stölzl

Lotte Buff (Miriam Stein) and Johann Goethe (Alexander Fehling)

Johann Goethe (Alexander Fehling)

Young Goethe In Love

directed by Philipp Stölzl
starring Alexander Fehling, Miriam Stein, Moritz Bleibtreu, Volker Bruch, Burghart Klaußner, Henry Hübchen

Germany 1772 – the young and tumultuous Johann Goethe (Alexander Fehling) aspires to be a poet; but after failing his law exams, he is sent by his father (Henry Huebchen) to a sleepy provincial court to mend his ways. Unsure of his talent and eager to prove himself, Goethe soon wins the praise and friendship of his superior Kestner (Moritz Bleibtreu). But then Lotte (Miriam Stein) enters his life and nothing is the same as before. However, the young lovers are unaware that her father has already promised Lotte’s hand to another man.

Director Phillip Stölzl (“Northface”) returns to the very wellspring of Romanticism – Goethe’s autobiographical masterpiece “The Sorrows of Young Werther” – and conjures up a beguiling and refreshingly innocent period romance.

Press Reactions

While Stölzl is clearly borrowing from other historical flights of fancy, such as Amadeus and Cyrano de Bergerac, along with Shakespeare in Love, the helmer and fellow screenwriters Christoph Mueller and Alexander Dydyna expertly mold these elements to fit the characters and situations’ own requirements, and expertly alternate romance, humor and drama without losing their grip on the characters and their dilemmas. – Variety

Technical Information

Production Year: 2010
Release Date: 4 Nov 2011
Country of Production: Germany
Language: German with English subtitles
Running Time: 102
Screen Ratio: 2.35:1
Sound: Dolby Digital
Color: Color
Rating: unrated