Frank Ullrich has celebrated many triumphs in his life. However, what the multiple biathlon world champion and Olympic gold medalist experienced on September 26, 2021 overwhelmed him deeply. “It’s like an Olympic victory,” he said to cheering members of the SPD in southern Thuringia. Right from the start, the Social Democrat won more than 33 percent of the first votes in constituency 196 and thus a direct mandate for the German Bundestag. This election victory was anything but a foregone conclusion.
Maaßen stopped filming without giving any reasons
In the previous months, the federal constituency of Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen – Sonneberg had enjoyed unusual national attention. After the original CDU candidate and long-time Bundestag member Mark Hauptmann stumbled over a mask affair, the Union sent the controversial right-wing politician Hans-Georg Maaßen into the race. The outcry was not only great in the Thuringian province. Strategies were sought in broad social circles to prevent the former President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, who was repeatedly accused of anti-Semitism and racism, from entering parliament. The AfD, on the other hand, was laughing up its sleeve.
In this situation, which was also heated from outside, Ullrich and representatives of other parties decided to conduct a particularly intensive election campaign. The filmmakers Yvonne and Wolfgang Andrä were there. They toured the constituency with Ullrich and candidates from the Greens, Left, FDP and ÖDP. They also followed Maaßen. However, he stopped filming after a short time and without giving any reasons. Significantly, the AfD candidate didn’t even want to be filmed.
Controversial topics
This region, rich in area and contrasts, becomes a reflection of various realities in the Federal Republic. In the excerpts from conversations between politicians and citizens at information stands, topics such as migration and the energy transition are discussed, which are becoming increasingly controversial in the public. In dialogue with business representatives, structural problems and disappointed hopes for the future in rural eastern Germany are revealed. And with it the roots of many a loudly expressed frustration.
But the film also questions democratic processes. When the Campact initiative publicly calls on local parties to join forces against Maaßen, they are faced with a difficult question: Do they fight together or would they rather fight for themselves?
As things progress, the contrast between Ullrich and Maaßen becomes more and more clear: there the social democrat, who is close to his homeland, who seeks closeness to people and appeals to social cohesion and respect. On the other hand, there is a Western import that uses Thuringia as a stage and – more or less dressed up in folklore – attracts attention as usual with divisive and inflammatory speeches. Not least during a panel discussion with other constituency candidates. These scenes in particular underline the arena aspect of the story.
Many perspectives
The fact that it was deliberately designed to be open is good for the whole thing. It’s not about an end-oriented duel between Maaßen and Ullrich. Rather, we immerse ourselves in a complex situation and gradually discover where and how the actors are looking for their place. The film follows many perspectives and at the same time strives for directness and clarity. So everyone can form their own opinion. This keeps curiosity alive, but also requires a lot of concentration. The contextual voice-over text is kept very sparingly.
The contrast to these “unfiltered” moments in the tradition of direct cinema are sometimes more and sometimes less aestheticized landscape shots of the “green heart of Germany”. It’s not just because of the powerful background music that they sometimes seem like foreign bodies. In the constant and thought-provoking flow of arguments and moods, it can also be seen as a breathing space.
Info: “Arena 196” (Germany 2023), a film by Yvonne and Wolfgang Andrä, with Frank Ullrich, Hans-Georg Maaßen, Stephanie Erben, Sandro Witt and others
In the cinema
2023-10-27 21:26:57
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