Entrusted (2003) (TV)

Director:

Giacomo Battiato

Writers:

Giacomo Battiato (writer)
Loup Durand (story)
(more)

Release Date:

3 July 2003 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Hoping to entrap Maria von Gall, who runs a courageous underground railroad for Jews in France, the Nazis kidnap her son Thomas...

Plot Keywords:

Boy Genius | Chess | Dead Mother | Swiss Bank | WWII

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Klaus Maria Brandauer	...	Gregor Lämmle
Thomas Sangster	...	Thomas von Gall
Claire Keim	...	Catherine Lamiel
Giovanna Mezzogiorno	...	Maria von Gall
Stephen Moyer	...	David Quatermain
Dominique Pinon	...	Henri Lafont
Thomas Heinze	...	Joachim Görtz
Ken Duken	...	Jürgen Müller
Gottfried John	...	Thomas von Gall sen.
Thierry Lhermitte	...	Andreas Lazik
Giorgio Pasotti	...	Michele
Cédric Brelet	...	Saverio
Rufus	...	Prof. Bergot
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marisa Leonie Bach	...	Louise (as Marisa Duken)
Didier Bourguignon	...	Lorry Driver
Bruno Cécillon	...	Bertrand
Sean Chapman	...	Larry Quatermain
Henri Costa	...	Guard
Francois Couet	...	Drag Singer
Didier Dabrowski	...	Soldier, Provence
Lara de Laubadère	...	Mitzi Lazik
Claude Duneton	...	Papa Allegre
Jean-Marie Frin	...	Shopkeeper
Joseph Frost	...	Player 2
Guillaume Groulard	...	Bruno
Philippe Julia	...	Soldier 1
Kyle König	...	Onlooker
Betty Krestinsky	...	Mama Allegre
Karl E. Landler	...	Soldier
Franck Libert	...	Soldier 2
Jean-Paul Muel	...	Mayor
Jean Nehr	...	Lionel
Peter Paulich	...	Business Man 1
Ulrich B. Pöppl	...	Bank Employee
Harry Raymon	...	Callaghan
Wulf Schmid-Noerr	...	Chairman
Dagmar Schwarz	...	Delphine
Brian Stavechny	...	Butler
Thomas Tipton	...	Player 1
Michel Voletti	...	Librarian
Cedric Brelet von Sydow	...	Saverio
Cameron Watson	...	Concierge

Directed by
Giacomo Battiato

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Giacomo Battiato		writer
Loup Durand		story and novel
Nicola Lusuardi		writer

Produced by
Alain Bordiec	....	executive producer
Georges Campana	....	producer
Chris Chrisafis	....	executive producer
Alexandre Déon	....	line producer
Michael Frenschkowski	....	line producer
Jean-Baptiste Leclère	....	line producer
Peter Paulich	....	executive producer
Norbert Sauer	....	executive producer
Karin Schockweiler	....	associate producer
Roberto Sessa	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Gert Wilden Jr.

Cinematography by
Florian Ballhaus

Film Editing by
Scott Stevenson

Casting by
Coralie Amedeo
Simona Conring
Carol L. Dudley
Linda Loebisch
Verena Pauli
Sylvie Peyrucq
Cornelia von Braun

Production Design by
Christian Marti

Art Direction by
Hucky Hornberger

Set Decoration by
Julie Sfez

Costume Design by
Anne de Laugardière

Makeup Department
Edwin Erfmann	....	key makeup artist
Katharina Erfmann	....	key hair stylist
Thommy Opatz	....	assistant makeup artist
Richard Sayah	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Clementine Amiel	....	unit manager
Nicolai Bader	....	production manager: Munich
Catherine Bastiere	....	post-production supervisor
Ornella Bernabei	....	production supervisor: Grundy
Pierre Gallo	....	production manager
Astrid Lecerf	....	production supervisor
Ingo Lohr	....	unit manager: Germany
Stéphane Schneider	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Basia Baumann	....	second assistant director: Germany
Zazie Carcedo	....	first assistant director
Marie Dimberton	....	second second assistant director
Franck Gauthier	....	second assistant director
Paul Goldsmith	....	third assistant director
Raquel Castelló Munoz	....	second assistant director: Germany
Frank Siegmund	....	third assistant director: Germany

Art Department
Denis Barbaud	....	art department coordinator
Arnaud Beaute	....	sculptor
Marcel Daudin	....	swing gang
Jean Marc Druais	....	head constructor
Noelle Fortuna	....	tapestry maker
Muriel Gilabert	....	assistant set decorator
Thierry Golitin	....	prop buyer
Thierry Gratien	....	head carpenter
Tobias Günthner	....	construction manager
Peter Leier	....	prop buyer
Cedric Marchand	....	swing gang
Michael Mathieu	....	prop buyer
Francesca Mauri	....	property master
Pierre Pernois	....	carpenter
Florence Ritter	....	assistant set decorator
Jean Marc Sanchez	....	assistant set decorator
Philippe Sylvain	....	property master
Aldo Thomas	....	swing gang

Sound Department
Richard Brooks	....	cable person
Gianluca Buttari	....	foley editor
Gianluca Buttari	....	foley recordist
David Motta	....	boom operator
Mike Shoring	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Georges Demétrau	....	special effects supervisor
Pascal Fauvelle	....	special effects assistant
Luis Gutiérrez	....	special effects assistant
Angel Pedro Martinez	....	special effects
François Philippi	....	special effects
Harald Rüdiger	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Luc Augereau	....	visual effects producer
Kevin Berger	....	digital compositor
François Vagnon	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Gilles Conseil	....	stunts
Dimitri Escoffier	....	stunt double
Rémy Escoffier	....	stunts
Pascal Guégan	....	stunts
Philippe Guégan	....	stunt coordinator
Jean-Benoit Guillon	....	stunts
Emmanuel Lanzi	....	stunts
Gregory Loffredo	....	stunts
Antoine Lomonaco	....	stunts
Jochen Römer	....	stunts
Olivier Schneider	....	stunts
Sandrine Vanlandeghem	....	stunts
Patricia Vosges	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Isabelle Arnold	....	focus puller
Voxi Bärenklau	....	gaffer
Didier Baverel	....	still photographer
Jost Engelmayer	....	electrician
Eric Garzena	....	electrician
Sebastian Grundt	....	assistant camera
Bruno Keller	....	additional electrician
Michael Koschorreck	....	electrician (as Michael Koschorrek)
Peter Kramer	....	electrician
Thomas Lappin	....	focus puller
Philippe Leroy	....	electrician
Hanno Olderdissen	....	grip
Robert Patzelt	....	steadicam operator
Roland Patzelt	....	best boy
Tomás Rautenstrauch	....	video operator
Olaf Richter	....	electrician
Helen Sabatzki	....	clapper loader
Axel Scholz	....	electrician
Laurent Tibessart	....	electrician
Sascha Vogel	....	electrician
Trevor Watkins	....	key grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Fatima Chohra	....	wardrobe
Anne Micolod	....	wardrobe
Tina Morel	....	wardrobe
Eric Perron	....	assistant costume designer
Barbara Schwarz	....	wardrobe
Jean-Pierre Villeneuve	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Sylvie Lager	....	assistant editor

Transportation Department
Ayhan Kamil	....	driver
Markus Müller	....	transportation coordinator
Bernd Oberueber	....	driver
Stephane Rampal	....	driver: Mr. Brandauer

Other crew
Stephane Basset	....	location manager
Juliette Bunuel	....	production coordinator
Raechel M. Crossen	....	lawyer
Sophie Dassonval	....	production assistant
Poppy Dixon	....	production assistant
Louis Elman	....	dialogue director
Benoît Farvet	....	production assistant (as Benoit Farvet)
Anne Fremiot	....	coach: "Thomas"
Laura Goulding	....	script supervisor: Germany
Camille Gruman	....	production secretary
Loic Huette	....	production assistant
Bernard Lamy	....	production accountant
Francois La Rocca	....	production assistant
Guilhem Maitrepierre	....	production assistant
Gregory Pagnier	....	production assistant
Katharina Scheunemann	....	production coordinator: Germany
Zoe Simijonovic	....	script supervisor
Enzo Tarquini	....	head of drama: Grundy
Cameron Watson	....	dialogue coach
Katja Weissinger	....	location manager: Germany
Christian Wöltche	....	assistant production accountant
Thibaud Zesiger	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Grosvenor Park Productions
• Le Sabre

Special Effects

• L'Etude et la Supervision des Trucages (L'E.S.T.) (visual effects)
• SFX Evolution

Other Companies

• 2K Filmproduktion  production services: Munich
• Cinegate  camera, grip and lighting equipment
• Inner Circle Pictures GmbH  production services
• Locafête  catering

Also Known As:

Daddy (France) (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

130 min | Germany:180 min

Country:

UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

France

Company:

Grosvenor Park Productions

Goofs:

Anachronisms: A 50-star American flag is shown flying in New York City.

Quotes:

David Quatermain: Anyone who's killed love within himself is capable of doing evil, filling other people's lives with misery.

A beautiful glimpse into the tragedy of WWII

This film has so captivated me that I have read the original novel, "Daddy", by Loup Durand. Although it shares with the film most of the supposed plot holes pointed out by others, it has been acclaimed by readers familiar with the genre on both sides of the Atlantic.

While I know few details of the esoteric intricacies of Swiss bank accounts, history records that the children and other heirs of many Jews put to death in the holocaust were often unable to recover the funds their ancestors had deposited there, because they could not produce the necessary death certificates. Thomas's great grandfather (grandfather in the film), a banker, had devised a labyrinthine scheme to circumvent these routine requirements so that funds could be released to anyone who presented the proper credentials and codes under the designated circumstances. It was very secret, involving international arrangements and surrounded with such safeguards that the Nazis had never managed to crack the system open to their benefit, despite many attempts.

Hence the need for Thomas to appear in person and to verify mutually (through secret codes committed to everyone's memory) the identity of everybody-- including several bank officials-- present simultaneously during his recitation. Its power could not be transferred to any single individual by telephone or in writing. In other parts of the book, Durand reveals enough knowledge of the often shameful record of global high finance during World War II that I can credit the plausibility of this premise, given the absence of objections from knowledgeable readers during all this time.

There are many differences between the film and the book. I am impressed by how, at least for the cinematic environment, many of these differences are actually improvements. The story has been not merely simplified of necessity, but tightened up. For instance, in the book Laemmle was just a brilliant but jaded, world-weary professor with suicidal thoughts, who had been pursuing "the Von Gall case" for years mainly to avoid being literally bored to death. But in the movie he was Maria's former teacher and would-be lover, with whom he had played so many expert chess games that he could recognize her distinctive style anywhere. This experience gives him a crucial clue in the film.

Catherine Lamiel has a much larger role than in the book. And whereas the time span of the novel is about a year (by the time it ends, the war is winding down), in the film it has been compressed into a couple of weeks-- befitting the urgency of the secret that Thomas carries. The principal characters and their conflicts, however-- both among one another and within themselves-- are remarkably intact.

With all due respect to the novel, a film faithful to it would need to resemble Indiana Jones. I do not admire the Indiana Jones movies and feel that their influence on American film-making is baneful. What we get here is subtler, more atmospheric, coherent, and I for one think more believable. It is also earnest: one critic said that it is reminiscent of a film of the 60s or even earlier, especially in the acting of Ms. Mezzogiorno and Mr. Moyer. Whether you will like this film depends on whether you like that. Well, I guess I do.

Finally, one must mention the unfortunate (if less than obvious) fact that we in what the powers-that-be have defined as "Region 1" are being treated in this product to only 2/3 of the original miniseries. I daresay the cutting has been about as well done as it can be. Nevertheless, under such conditions, anyone is forgiven for perceiving plot holes and puzzlements. The full original is available only elsewhere, or to North Americans who have taken the step of acquiring a "region-free" DVD player and then patronizing a vendor overseas for a more obscure offering. I would recommend all lovers of freedom to do at least the former-- it's not particularly expensive, not yet anyway-- and meanwhile to reserve judgment on any production seen only as mutilated by third parties.

A bit of trivia: Laemmle cites Bossuet (in the full version explaining that he was "the Sun King's favorite preacher") for a view that he apparently shared, that "childhood is the most vile, abject form of human nature." Indeed, a web search turns up an aphorism of Jacques-Benigne Bossuet's: "L'enfance est la vie d'une bete" (Childhood is the life of an animal).