A film by Benjamin Heisenberg. "Superegos" celebrated its premiere at The 64th International Film Festival Berlin 2014, in the Panorama Special Section
Owing the wrong people money can get ugly pretty quick. Nick Gutlicht, a rogue with proletarian roots and an opportunistic handler in valuable books, must go into hiding. Chance leads him to the house of the aged star psychologist Curt Ledig, who despite his failing memory, a pathological fear of kitchens and an eye twitch, is fighting tooth and nail against moving in with his daughter. Nick is promptly hired as his chaperone - a lifesaver for Nick as Ledig’s posh bungalow in Feldafing am Ammersee is a brilliant hideout, and a chance for Curt to be free of his meddlesome family so he can work on an upcoming symposium lecture no one thinks he can pull off. Curt is determined to take a stand regarding his early scholarly career during the Third Reich.
The unexpected marriage of convenience between the two stubborn individualists quickly develops into a dynamic constellation with substantial centrifugal force. Curt finds a highly interesting research subject in his volatile flat mate, submitting him to unsolicited and unconventional therapy, while Nick sees Curt’s valuable library as his only chance to consolidate his finances. But meanwhile: Nick’s casual lover, the pretty bookseller Norah, is fed up with his commitment issues. Nick’s creditors are working their way toward Ammerssee led by a dubious underworld matriarch simply known as "Mother". Curt’s family has popped in for a visit - and Nick is beginning to have some astounding side-effects from his involuntary blitz-therapy. The fates of the two antithetical heroes become inescapably intertwined until a dramatic therapy showdown in the solitude of a mountain night leaves no more room for excuses.
SUPEREGOS is its own kind of double-trouble buddy movie: dark, cryptic, with surprising wit and two magnificent leading actors.
Komplizen Film (Germany) in co-production with Vega Film (Switzerland), Novotny & Novotny Filmproduktion (Austria) and Peter Heilrath Filmproduktion (Germany); in collaboration with WDR, BR, Arte, SRF/SRG SSR; Funded by German Federal Film Fund, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Minister of State for Culture and Media, Federal Department of Culture BAK, Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHA, Eurimages, Zurich Film Foundation, Austrian Film Institute, Film Location Austria, Vienna Film Fund, Cine Tirol, Media.
Curt Ledig
André Wilms
Nick Gutlicht
Georg Friedrich
Rosa
Bettina Stucky
Norah
Susanne Wolff
Frau Tischmann
Elisabeth Orth
Mutter
Maria Hofstätter
Fanny
Margarita Broich
Jasper
Markus Schleinzer
Moderator
Michael Wittenborn
Directed by
Benjamin Heisenberg
Screenplay
Benjamin Heisenberg
Josef Lechner
Director of Photography
Reinhold Vorschneider
Editing
Stefan Kälin
Andreas Wodraschke
Production Designer
Renate Schmaderer
Costume Designer
Stephanie Rieß
Make Up
Wiltrud Derschmidt
Dörte Dobkowitz
Casting
Ulrike Müller
Original Music
Lorenz Dangel
Original Sound
Laurent Barbey
Commissioning Editors
Andrea Hanke (WDR)
Cornelia Ackers (BR)
Georg Steinert (ARTE)
Esther Rutschmann (Line Producer SRF)
Urs Fitze (Coproductions SRF)
Sven Wälti (National Coordination SRG SSR)
Co-producers
Ruth Waldburger (VEGA Film)
Franz Novotny
Alexander Glehr (Novotny & Novotny Filmproduktion)
Peter Heilrath (Peter Heilrath Filmproduktion)
Producers
Janine Jackowski, Jonas Dornbach und Maren Ade (Komplizen Film)
Berlinale 2014
Panorama Special
CPH:PIX
2 Riversides Film Festival
Kamera Ostrava
Chicago International Film Festival
Comedy Cluj Film Festival
St Petersburg Cool Connections
La Paz Muestra de Cine Europeo
Festival des Deutschen Films
Chennai International Film Festival