Paweł Pawlikowski’s “Fatherland” Rewrites Thomas Mann’s 1949 German Journey

“Fatherland,” directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, condenses history into a brief eighty-two minutes, chronicling the journey of septuagenarian author Thomas Mann as he travels through West and East Germany in the summer of 1949. During this trip, he accepts the Goethe Prize from both states in celebration of Goethe’s 200th birthday. Portrayed by Hanns Zischler, Mann, who has resided in Los Angeles since 1941, is accompanied by his daughter Erika (Sandra Hüller) and his assistant. The film features Mann delivering speeches at a press conference in Frankfurt and formal ceremonies in Weimar, where he learns of his son Klaus’s (August Diehl) drug overdose, ruled a suicide. The New Yorker’s Anthony Lane points out that Mann’s true companion was his wife Katia, who is depicted as too frail to travel. The film captures the somber atmosphere of post-war Germany, highlighting West Germans’ nostalgia for the past.