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Escape to Life: The Erika and Klaus Mann Story

Play trailer Escape to Life: The Erika and Klaus Mann Story 2000 1h 20m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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29% Tomatometer 7 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
The children of German author Thomas Mann rely on one another for support and become successful in literature.

Critics Reviews

View All (7) Critics Reviews
Ed Halter Village Voice Weiss and Speck never make a convincing case for the relevance of these two 20th-century footnotes. Mar 28, 2002 Full Review V.A. Musetto New York Post Why make a documentary about these marginal historical figures? Wouldn't one about their famous dad, author of Death in Venice, etc., be more valuable? Rated: 1.5/4 Mar 28, 2002 Full Review Stephen Holden New York Times The re- enactments, however fascinating they may be as history, are too crude to serve the work especially well. Mar 28, 2002 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Aug 17, 2005 Full Review David Noh Film Journal International Weiss and Speck capture the rich, turbulent tapestry of the Manns' lives. Mar 29, 2002 Full Review Ken Fox TV Guide An interesting, if not entirely successful, biography of two extraordinary personalities. Rated: 3/5 Mar 28, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member I don't agree with some of the official critics' negative remarks. First of all, some misread the scenes in color as "reenactments" of the lives of Erika and Klaus Mann, while they are actually based on Klaus Mann's literary texts. The critics have either not seen the film or not paid much attention. In my point of view the contrast that exists between archival footage and interviews on the one hand and these fiction segments is therefore resolved very well. They also serve to give more even weight to the two siblings. I also strongly disagree that a film on Thomas Mann would NOT make more sense. His life is covered well elsewhere. This film brings together a number of highly interesting aspects: political (an early awareness of and resistance to the Nazi developments), family (the extremely close relationships of the two siblings and allusions to the troubled relationship with their famous father); cultural (Klaus Mann as accomplished writer, but particularly the little-known careers of Erika Mann: cabaret leader, actress, public speaker, journalist who covered the Nurnberg trial); gender & sexuality (the sexual adventures, fake marriages, openly gay lifestyle); migration and exile. In short an extremely rich topic that is executed very well. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Escape to Life: The Erika and Klaus Mann Story

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis The children of German author Thomas Mann rely on one another for support and become successful in literature.
Director
Andrea Weiss, Wieland Speck
Producer
Thomas Kufus
Screenwriter
Andrea Weiss, Wieland Speck
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 20m