Lotte in Weimar

LOTTE IN WEIMAR is the film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Thomas Mann, published in 1939. Mann tells the story of Charlotte Kestner, who, as Goethe's early love, inspired the character of Lotte in his novel 'The Sorrows of Young Werther'. About 40 years later, Lotte visits Weimar and meets Goethe again.

In September 1816, the court councilor Charlotte Kestner, née Buff, comes to Weimar under the pretext of visiting her sister. In fact, Charlotte wants to see her early love, J. W. Goethe for the first time in 44 years. With the character of Lotte in The Sorrows of Young Werther, Goethe has helped her achieve wider and not necessarily desired fame. Charlotte's arrival quickly spreads around Weimar. Curious visitors gather in front of the hotel where Charlotte is staying with her daughter. The people in Weimar eagerly await the meeting between the now 67-year-old poet and his former lover from Wetzlar. Through encounters, such as with Adele Schopenhauer, Charlotte also learns critical things about the state minister Goethe. The long-awaited meeting is ultimately nothing more than a courtesy visit. The lunch in a larger circle is marked by Goethe's reserve and the efforts of the invited society to present themselves as intellectually as possible. Whether a later private conversation between the two actually took place or is merely part of Lotte's imagination remains an open question. Finally, the court councilor departs with the certainty that this chapter of her life is definitively closed. This film is based on the 1939 novel Lotte in Weimar: The Beloved Return, by Nobel Prize-winning German novelist Thomas Mann. It was the first film ever to represent the GDR in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. The renowned Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra even played selections from Gustav Mahler’s 6th Symphony contributed to the prestige production.