The incredible success of the Amazon documentary “Melania,” which is surprisingly at number 3 in the US cinema charts after its premiere weekend, is prompting countless imitators. But the idea behind it is also too tempting: the women alongside the most powerful men in the world are followed with a film camera as they go about their normal everyday activities and are finally taken seriously as people. The resulting beautiful images are dressed in a contemporary, high-gloss aesthetic, a huge audience is attracted, and the big ruble starts rolling in – every forward-looking television provider will happily shell out a huge chunk of US dollars for these rights.
This is one of the reasons why the powerful Springer Group is currently in negotiations, which will result in what may be the largest sum ever invested in documentation rights in this country. “Frau Chrupalla”, the comprehensive insight into the life of the AfD chairman’s wife, is to be broadcast exclusively by the flagship channel Welt-TV after two weeks of theatrical release. It is rumored that a sum equivalent to 18 million euros is being discussed for the right. Another 25 million will then be spent on marketing.
The documentary will show Ms. Chrupalla – as she is called because no one knows her first name – over 30 days as she copes with her stressful life. For example, the official’s wife will spend hours racing through East Saxony at breakneck speed in her BMW She will also spend weeks preparing meticulously for the upcoming AfD federal party conference in Erfurt, where her husband will probably be re-elected as co-leader of the right-wing extremist group.
Rolled out scruples
After many long-standing scruples, she ultimately doesn’t go because she wants to stay out of her husband’s political dealings. However, the documentary, which has a blue tinge for long periods, derives its special appeal from the fact that Ms. Chrupalla, who has been completely unknown to date, will continue to be completely unknown. In hardly any scene can she be clearly recognized, and in the few others she wears a painter’s mask from her beloved “Tino Mouse” company.
However, the whole thing is filmed brilliantly. The noble production exudes subtle elegance and undisguised xenophobia. Quiet scenes (Mrs. Chr. leisurely stirring her afternoon music) alternate with tense ones (Mrs. Chr. kicking a beggar’s hat away). In between we see quickly edited sequences of big city scenes, rapeseed fields and border watchtowers – God knows what that’s all supposed to mean! The success at the box office and in paid streaming will prove that the company, which is very expensive for Springer, is right.
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, on the other hand, punished with undeservedly poor poll numbers, sees the hot trend as a great opportunity to increase his popularity. “Charlotte”, the docudrama about a lawyer from the Sauerland region who, thanks to tireless hard work and an upright character, becomes a judge and even director of a district court in the Westphalian province, is intended to bring about a change. The country should be convinced that this Chancellor has put his heart in the right place.
In this boiling mixture of sense and sensuality, of rationality and emotion, he is ultimately just a human being like you and me. Why? Look for the woman! So Charlotte Merz buys her husband a new tie, tortures the cuckoo clock and feeds the children who scream against it because of their adult age. In between, she single-handedly reorganized the court system in Arnsberg by introducing the 60-hour week and ordering one day of house arrest and 20 lashes for every day of vacation taken.
Poignant portrait
Unfortunately, no streaming provider is currently interested in this poignant portrait. Even ZDFinfo has just slammed the door in the faces of the emissaries from the Chancellery. However, the stubborn Merz will not let himself be dissuaded from his plan. “Charlotte” is currently being edited into a podcast that celebrates the life of this exemplary woman and contributes to the feminism account of the CDU chairman, who is very unpopular with women. A request was made to Spotify. The answer is still pending.
Social Minister Bärbel Bas therefore chooses a completely different path, who wants to cause a sensation with the gender-neutral title “Bas” instead of a boring documentary about her non-existent or non-public husband. And that on the co-producing channel RTL Zwei! For a full 90 minutes she gives a gripping speech about this and that and the future of social democracy in a globalized world, while she pulls flowers and waters weeds in her garden. But what is that? You can hardly believe your eyes. Suddenly, like in a David Lynch film, the setting changes completely and Ferdinand Lassalle, August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht take the helm and steer through the flood of images.
Does this symbolize the dawn of a new, old social democratic era? The premiere guests leave the hall timidly happy, even exhilarated. A beautiful idea, an endearing utopia that plays no role at all in pragmatic everyday life! That’s why documentaries were invented.