Colonia (film)

Colonia
Teaser poster
Directed by	Florian Gallenberger
Produced by	Benjamin Herrmann
Written by	Torsten Wenzel Florian Gallenberger
Starring	Emma Watson Daniel Brühl Michael Nyqvist
Music by	André Dziezuk Fernando Velázquez
Cinematography	Kolja Brandt
Edited by	Hansjörg Weißbrich
Production company	Majestic Filmproduktion Iris Productions Rat Pack Filmproduktion Rezo Productions Fred Films
Distributed by	Majestic Filmverleih (Germany) Rezo Films (France)
Release dates	13 September 2015 (2015-09-13) (TIFF) 18 February 2016 (2016-02-18) (Germany)
Running time	110 minutes
Country	Germany Luxembourg France
Language	English Spanish
Box office	$2.3 million

Colonia is a 2015 historical romantic thriller film directed by Oscar-winner Florian Gallenberger, produced by Benjamin Herrmann, written by Torsten Wenzel and Gallenberger, and starring Emma Watson, Daniel Brühl, and Michael Nyqvist. The film is set against the backdrop of the Chilean military coup and the real "Colonia Dignidad", a notorious cult in the South of Chile, led by German lay preacher Paul Schäfer. The film is an international co-production of companies in Germany, Luxembourg, and France.

Principal photography began on 2 October 2014 in Luxembourg; filming also took place in Germany and Argentina. It was shown in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

Plot

In 1973, a young couple become entangled in a Chilean military coup at a time when there is much protest on the streets against General Augusto Pinochet. When Daniel is abducted by Pinochet's secret police DINA, Lena tries to find and save her boyfriend. She tracks him to a sealed-off organization called "Colonia Dignidad", which presents itself as a charitable mission run by a lay preacher, Paul Schäfer. Lena joins the organization to rescue her boyfriend, only to learn it is a cult from which no one has ever escaped. She later finds Daniel, who acts disabled. Daniel discovers the organization is also an illegal operations center for DINA. Lena and Daniel attempt to escape from Colonia Dignidad along with Ursel, a pregnant nurse. Ursel gets killed and both Lena and Daniel escape to German embassy. Staff from the embassy betray them but the lovers exit the country via a plane with incriminating photographic evidence against Colonia Dignidad.

Cast

• Emma Watson as Lena, girlfriend of Daniel, who has to join the cult Colonia Dignidad to rescue him.
• Daniel Brühl as Daniel, a German citizen kidnapped by General Augusto Pinochet's secret police DINA during the protest against Pinochet.
• Michael Nyqvist as Paul Schäfer, the leader of Colonia Dignidad.
• Richenda Carey as Gisela
• Vicky Krieps as Ursel
• Jeanne Werner
• Martin Wuttke
• Julian Ovenden
• August Zirner

Production

On 29 September 2014, it was announced that Emma Watson and Daniel Brühl would star as a couple in the upcoming film which is based on a true story, directed by Florian Gallenberger who co-wrote the script with Torsten Wenzel. Benjamin Herrmann would be producing the film through Majestic Filmproduktion, and Nicolas Steil would co-produce through Iris Productions. Kolja Brandt would be director of photography, and Hansjörg Weißbrich would be the film editor. On 27 October, Michael Nyqvist joined the film to star as Paul Schäfer.

Filming

Principal photography began on 2 October 2014 in Luxembourg, where it was shot in Haut Martelange near to Rambrouch on the Luxembourg-Belgium border. Filming in Luxembourg lasted through end of October, and then the production moved to Germany for further shoot in Munich and Berlin. It was also shot in Buenos Aires until early 2015.

Release

Colonia premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival on 13 September 2015. Shortly after, Screen Media Films acquired U.S distribution rights to the film. The film also screened at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 12, 2016. The film was released in Germany on 18 February 2016.

The film was released in the United States and Canada on 15 April 2016, the same day as Emma Watson's 26th birthday.

Critical reception

The film has received generally negative reviews. On review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 23% based on 22 reviews and an average rating of 3.9/10. The film has received a rating of 7.2/10 on IMDb, based on 6,182 votes.

Colonia received 7 nominations from the German Film Awards, including Best Film and Best Director.

See also

• The Last King of Scotland

External links

• Official website
• Colonia at IMDb
• Colonia at Box Office Mojo
• Colonia at Rotten Tomatoes
• Colonia at Metacritic