Was nützt die Liebe in Gedanken (2004) - full transcript

This film is based on a true story

Paul Krantz and Guenter Scheller
hereby describe the course of events,

so no misunderstandings may arise.

Tonight we will take revenge

Revenge on those we love
and who betrayed our love.

Then we, Guenter and I,
will depart this life with a smile.

That's the whole truth.

"That's the whole truth."
That's better than any confession.

You've become quite a celebrity
in a rather short time.

"Youths, Weary of Life,
Form Suicide Club"

"Two of Four Members Found Shot Dead"



"19-Year-Old Ringleader in Custody"

"Pathological Motives Suspected"

Tell me about the girl.
Did you...

...you love her that much...
Hilde?

You write here...

"I think that love drove me
to the ultimate step"

"There are girls of such...

...of such intensity
that one is powerless to resist"

What difference does it make now?

Did this "suicide club" really exist?

Were you the leader,
or was your friend, Scheller?

What does it matter?

How come you're still alive?

"Then we, Guenter and I,



will depart this life with a smile"

You don't know anything

LOVE IN THOUGHTS

Dear Universe,
It all started at school three days ago

FRIDAY
We had detention

That Friday was the first time Guenter
invited me to the Scheller's summer house

His parents were away and I was
looking forward to the weekend

OM SUICIDE

Mainly I wanted to see
his sister Hilde again

And Guenter?

I think he was already far away by then

Gentlemen...

You can leave now

It's beautiful

Bang, bang, old man.
You're dead

I hope my sister's here already.
So do I

Hilde!

Hilde-girl?

Maybe she's not here

Maybe she's at the beach?

I warned you!
Where's Hans?

What's eating you?

Come on, stop it!
If I find that guy, I'll kill him

I haven't seen him in two weeks.
Don't give me that

I can smell the cook in this house.
I fixed myself something to eat

What's he doing here?
Hello, Hilde

This is Paul Krantz, the poet.
You know each other

We've met.
That's possible

This is like paradise

I bet you've never even looked
into one of these books

So what?
I'm just saying

If I had this many books...
You can have them

They're all yours

What's this?

No idea. A weird horoscope
contraption of my mother's

Do you know how it works?

No. Hilde does, though

We talked about Jakob von Hoddis.
The poet

And Georg Heym

The time we met.
You still want to talk about them?

Is Hans your boyfriend?

What makes you say that?
Well, the way Guenter acted...

Hans, Hans...
Hans is just Hans

I thought they were such good friends

These days all he talks about is you.
He seems to think you're a genius

Want to row across the lake with me?

Dinner's ready!

I'd like to read something of yours

None of it's very good yet.
Maybe some other time

I'd like to now

"To Love"

I didn't ask you to stay.
But you stayed

I never asked you who you were
or what you wanted

You were simply there

What do you want from me, love?

Was I not stronger alone?
And did I ever need you?

But stay a bit longer.
Not long,

Just until they stop asking
how I am

And I stop saying, "Fine"

Everyone can tell at a glance:
You are here

If you ever leave me

I will go with you

And? What do you say?

Would you really?

If I loved the person, yes.
You believe in true love?

Can you think up another poem?

Now?
Yes. One just for me

What?

Why the smile?

A comely leg shows off a hem of pink.
What a lovely, saucy sight

Wonder what it might conceal, I think?
When I dare to ask, she pales in fright

My, my, Herr Krantz.

You're a naughty one

You want me to leave?

No, no.
I'm pretty tired anyway

I'll return the favour

Did I promise you too much?

Paul...

Come with me

SATURDAY

I'm going into town.

Why?
- I'm meeting someone...

... Elli?

Oh, stay here with Paul and me.
- You have a crush on him?

No.

He's a friend from school.
What about you? Do you like him?

We'll see.
- Hilde.

Yes?
- Promise to be back by 8:00.

Why?
- I have a surprise for you.

Bring Elli, Lottchen, Rosa,
and the others, too.

Yes, Great Manitou.

By 8:00 at the latest!

How's the water?
- Is Hilde up?

She's in town.
She'll be back tonight

Besides, she left something for you.

Let me see.
Come on, let me see!

This book with your heart you wrought.
A poet's soul you have, that's sure.

Dark ideas to capture you have sought,
but the rhymes are clear and pure.

Yet you are young and to me it seems,
that you are really just a boy

Who's known love only in his dreams,
And tarried too long to savour its joy

You'll fail to win the girl you sought
If your ardour in poems alone you show

What use is love only in thought?
When the time comes, you won't know

You should save your bullet, you know.
That's no reason the trigger to pull

Far too many tears would flow
It's just not worth it for such bull

What does she mean,
"Tarried too long to savour its joy?"

That you won't deliver
when it comes down to it

My sister's not one for theory

You think I should try
a more direct approach?

Yes

NO TRESPASSING

It's pretty obvious.
She writes:

"When the time comes,
you won't show"

"You won't know"

Maybe she can tell you're a virgin

Does she have a boyfriend?

I hope not.
Then why did she go to town today?

Cause she knows you're hot for her
and will wait for her all day

She wants you crawling to Berlin,
begging for a moment with her

She's crazy

Hilde likes you, trust me.
She has a thing for proles

Hey, jackass!

May I speak to Hans, please?
From the kitchen

It's me

I was out in the country.
With my brother, who else?

Your son's repeated unexcused absences
from class are a matter of concern

Is that so?

Don't make such a fuss.
I'm coming

See you later

Elli! Get changed,
we're going to the Mokka Efti!

What, so early?

Fine, I'll be right over!

The Mokka Efti is no fun anymore.

Who's coming tonight?

Some of Guenter's friends.
Rosa. Lotte... and Paul

He's coming, too?
Yes. Nice chap. Handsome, too

Maybe a bit shy, but...
He stayed the night with us

And?
Well, you know me

Maybe you'll find one, too.
Well, you know me

Well, look who's here.
Oh, it's you

You're not dancing.
To that music?

May I join you ladies?
Go ahead. I was just leaving anyway

Perhaps you'd care to join us?
Some other time, maybe

What about you?
Just a teeny little glass?

At the next table...

All right

Hey, doll.
Hey, soup boy

I'd almost given up on you

Ten minutes, okay?

Where were you last night?
Wouldn't you like to know

Today I won't let you off so easy

I'll come over later.
You can't

I have to go back to the country.
I promised Guenter

Now that your parents are finally away,
your jealous brother has to spoil it

Tonight... I'm staying

I'm serious.
So am I

Are you in love with Hans?

I don't know

Such things quickly pass

Never to return

Maybe it's true...

...that people are only truly happy
once in their lives

Just once

And then they are punished for it

For the rest of their lives

The punishment is that
they can never forget that one moment

I think it's best...

...to say goodbye at the right time

Namely when you're the happiest

Precisely then

At the zenith

How quiet it is here

Dear posterity,

These are the statutes
of our suicide club

The members are
Paul Krantz and Guenter Scheller

First: The name of the suicide club
shall be Fehou

Second: Love is the only reason
for which we are willing to die

Third: Love is the only reason
for which we would be willing to kill

Therefore we swear to end our lives
once we no longer feel any love

And we will take all those along
who robbed us of our love.

At last!

I thought we'd have to bore
your friend with jokes all afternoon

Oh, it wasn't that bad

It's quiet today

Could it be that you're
not too unhappy about that?

At least that way you know
you'll be safe in this... jungle

I'm afraid I don't understand.
It doesn't take a Freudian

to see that your many
suitors scare you

That's why you prefer
to attack, right?

I don't know what you're talking about.
I can't believe that

I don't care. I have better things to do
than listen to you

Come, we must leave Herr Zipfer
to his insights

Excuse me, Hilde-girl.
I didn't mean to offend you

By the way,
your fear is quite understandable

What a bang! Not bad

They're crazy!

Would you stop that, you idiots!
Tell him to put on different music

Don't drink, open the bottles!

Why open them if we can't drink?

Watch, guys

Go ahead

Coward

It was just a bit of fun.
Nothing happened, after all

This is not a toy, Jango

If any of us is ready tonight...

If he's really happy...
He can go

And the others will help him do it

Why when he's happy?
Why not?

All right, everybody

Won't be easy to close that door again

My parents haven't been here in ages

Say, where's your sister, anyway?

No idea.
She should be here by now

I came to pick you up.
Sweet of you. Have you met Elli?

We met once. You were with Guenter.
We did?

Never mind. Elli's used to that

What's wrong?

Are you okay?

If you love someone, you love only him

But if you limit yourself to one,
he'll soon try to tell you what to do

You're at his mercy. If he doesn't want
you to study or work, too bad for you

You can like many fellows at a time.
This for one reason, that for another

I heard if you can't decide,
you become a lesbian

The emancipated ones are lesbian, right?
Right. And cola turns your feet brown

You're... a silly little one

The word "naive" doesn't even cover it.
This needs more sugar

I'm liberated, and for me, a handful of
men won't do. I want a whole land-full

You think committing equals weakness

You're talking nonsense

And later?
What about later?

No one will be there to take care of you.
Parroting what that idiot said, huh?

It's true, though

Oh. is that sweet!

Well, if you ask me,

love as we know it won't exist
20 years from now

We will progress
beyond petty possessiveness

We'll live in a free society
and all love each other

It's already like that in Russia

But that's awful! Why?

You have no political consciousness

You do whatever your parents tell you
. That's not true!

What do you know, anyway?

Hey, am I happy now? Do I have to go?

Hello, Guenter!

Hope I'm not disturbing you.
What are you doing here?

I heard rumours of pretty girls

Are you alone?
On the contrary

Look what I brought along

The green fairy!
Where did you get that?

Wouldn't you like to know.
Anyone up for a little trip tonight?

What shall we drink to? Paul

Try this

To the beauty of youth

To us

Have you ever had a girlfriend?

That was a sad story.
I see

Want to hear it anyway?
In that case, no

One, two...

And let it flow

Sadly, it's simple. People come
in two kinds: those who love

and those who are loved.
like my sister

That's not the problem.
What is, then?

How long have you known Paul?

I have no idea

For...

I don't remember

Which kind is he?

A bit of both, maybe

What a beautiful night

If we could stop time now...
Right now, at this very moment

It's perfect.
There's everything we could want

Let's just go somewhere

I told you not to show your face again!
Oh, come on

And leave Hilde alone!

Get out!

Get out!

Get out of my life

Hey, what's going on?
There's thirsty people out here

Go away, Bittner!
Guenter?

Go on, scram

Get lost

Got you

You're so beautiful

I never want to belong to one guy only

Not even you

What use is love in thoughts

What are you doing up there?
The view is good from here

Want to come up?

I still have some left, if you like.
Did you drink all that by yourself?

When was it that we met?
This last winter. At the Mokka Efti

With Hilde and Guenter. And Hans

You were there that time?

We went to a movie afterward,
but you didn't come along

You were short on money...

But the others didn't notice that

Shit!

Hey, Hilde.
Not in bed yet?

How did get here?
Took the zeppelin

Oh, you two know each other?

You're right.
It really is nice up here

What, Hilde,
no one loves you anymore?

No one loves me anymore, either

And no wonder

Want a ride to the city?
Why would I go to the city?

The party is past its prime.
You and your smart-aleck comments

The city, anyone?
It's going to rain soon anyway

Has anyone seen Paul?
Yeah, a while ago. With you, I think

Oh, God. My car

Hey, you old lush

Hey, Paul

How are you?

Hey, Paul, where were you?
Swimming

How about you, Paul?

Sorry, what?
I can tell your future

Come on, this is your chance

I don't believe in that stuff.
Afraid?

Nonsense.
Says you

Sit down

Only one question. The answer's
inside you, I just help you find it

Just one question.
So consider it well

Ask if you should become a teacher.
Right

How is that supposed to work?
It's a...

...horoscope-mobile.
It's controlled by your subconscious

Pipe down, everyone

It works through a kind of magnetism

You have your question?

Yes

Give me your hands

You have to concentrate.
Close your eyes

Everyone be quiet

Now pose your question

It's the Hermit

What did he get?
The Hermit

What does that mean?
Obvious. You'll be alone a long time

What's that got to do with my question?

That's your fate

What was your question?

Whether you'll outlive me, Macke

That's a bunch of baloney

Why do you all fall for her?

I'd sleep with you

Over there, in the woods

I know you have a crush on Hilde

But there's no need to pity me

I don't

You can go on ahead

SUNDAY

I'm going to school

There's no school today, Elli

Does the shirt fit you?

I'm kind of hungry, actually

Yeah, I'll go look in the kitchen.
I'm sure I'll find something

Anyone else want anything?

Hilde, can you come with me?
Don't feel like it

We have guests.
Come on, please

Listen, loser.
You can forget about my girl

She doesn't like schoolboys.
Oh, yeah?

Sorry, but could you maybe
look after Paul a bit?

So he isn't so...

Are you crazy?
Don't get all in a lather

Yesterday was swell, wasn't it?

And besides, I have the feeling
he's got a crush on you

So what if he does?

You're really...
I'm serious, Hilde

This is my last chance with Hans

I'm going to bed.
What? At 5.00 P.M.? Why?

I'll sleep in the master bedroom

Here, take this.
Now we can relax a bit

Where's your sister?
She went to bed

Why did she do that?
She was tired

You mean she's not coming back?

So? We can ask the others
to come by after school

It's Sunday.
Or we can ring at Elli's

She lives two doors down.
Crap idea

What's the matter with you two?

Ask Guenter what time it is

Go on, ask him.
What for?

Just do it

It's really hilarious

What time is it?

I've got to take a leak
Again?

Why? What time is it?

Paul, don't you want to hit the sack?

You can sleep here if you like

You can finish your beer first.

You're making such a fool of yourself

You think so?

It's me

What was that?
Hilde...

Never mind them

I'll protect you, don't worry

I think I love you, Hans

The zenith

If you go, I'm going with you

Paul Krantz and Guenter Scheller
hereby describe the course of events,

so no misunderstandings may arise

Tonight we will take revenge

Revenge on those we love
and who betrayed our love

Then we, Guenter and I,
will depart this life with a smile

That's the whole truth

Dear Universe,

A tiny piece of the whole will die

Don't be upset

You will barely feel the loss
of one cell being extinguished

Time rolls on

What is such a little life?

A brief flicker in the world,

then merely ashes and dust

I'm leaving

It's just not worth it

I'm going home

You left long ago

Hilde, open the door

What happened to you?

Where is he?

If you mean Hans, he's long gone

What did you do that for?

Morning. Oh, you're not dressed yet.
Morning

Hello. Elli

Hello

Come

What's wrong?
They've been acting crazy all night

I had to hide Hans.
He stayed the night

I have something to tell you, too

Guenter Scheller was my friend

probably the only one

That crazy night we agreed

that the four of us would commit suicide

The fact that...that I later didn't

...that I later didn't believe in that possibility anymore

doesn't change the fact that our thoughts were wrong

it doesn't change anything

The court will now withdraw for discussion

The hall shall be cleared during that time

The verdict:

The defendant Paul Krantz will spend three weeks
in jail for possession of illegal firearms

He is cleared of all other accusations

The time he already spent in jail during
investigation will be taken into account

Supplement by Guenter Scheller...

Dear space...

When we don't exist anymore,
nobody shall miss us.

Not even one tear shall be shed for us

If anyone may want to remember us,
he shall do it with joy.

Because it's like this:

we did the only right thing

...we lived

In 1931 'Die Mietskaserne', the first novel by Paul Krantz,
was published under the synonym Ernst Erich Noth.

On the 10th of May 1933 the novel was burned
by the Nazis during their book burnings.

Paul Krantz fled from Germany on the 5th of March 1933
and went into exile.

Hilde Scheller suffered what could be called a
witch hunt after these events.

Because of the obscene coverage about her
she was forced to leave the city.

She went on to become a librarian.

Elli never got married.