The story of twins separated at birth is not new to fiction. Since the publication in 1949 of the novel by the German writer Erich Kästner The two Charlottesthis argument has been taken to the cinema and television on more than 20 occasions in a dozen countries, such as in the famous You to London and I to California. But what is not so common is that this plot is used to address a political metaphorhow does The Palacethe German series that premieres the channel Cosmo this Monday, May 16 (10:00 p.m.) to the rhythm of eighties music like the 99 Red Balloons of Babe.
Because in this case the twins who meet unexpectedly in East Berlin in 1988 were separated as babies and raised in the divided Germany after the Second World War. They are thus a reflection of those two sister Germanys, in which the Berlin Wall distanced many families for years.
On one side is Marlene, a citizen of the FRG, destined to inherit her father’s company; and on the other Christine, raised by her communist mother in the GDR, soloist dancer in the Friedrichstadt Palast, the legendary Berlin revue theater known as the east broadway in which figures such as Marlene Dietrich, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.
Two roles for the same actress
They are both played by the same actress. Svenja Jung (Deutschland 89, Fucking Berlin), who spent months rehearsing the elaborate choreographies that he later performs on the real stage of this kind of German Moulin Rouge. To make it as believable as possible, she was accompanied by 70 dancers from 30 countries.
the german screenwriter Rodica Dohnert is in charge of developing the story, which was the main source of information about the former GDR that the director of the miniseries had, uli edel (I, Cristina F., Last Exit Brooklyn, Twin Peaks). “A few years ago we already had a stormy but very creative collaboration in The Adlon family. I remember even then pestering her with questions about her childhood and youth in a communist parental home and life in the other part of Germany. A lot of that has been incorporated into the series as well. Rodica’s creative solidarity throughout the shoot was the guarantee that she didn’t let me get too carried away by Western prejudices, “acknowledges the director.
20.1% share in Germany
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Composed of six episodes, the miniseries brought together in its broadcast on the German public broadcaster ZDF an average of 6.23 million viewers, marking a 20.1% of Compartir.
The cast also includes well-known German actors such as Anja Kling (Freud), heino ferch (Collapse), Inka Friedrich (summer on the balcony), Friedrich von Thun (Schindler’s List), Ursula Werner (in seventh heaven), jeanette hain (Babylon Berlin), Herman Beyer (Dark), August Wittgenstein (Das Boot: The Submarine), Hannes Wegener (RAF Red Army Faction), Louise Befort (we are the wave) Y Daniel Donoskoy (faking hitler).