Directed by:
Hermine HuntgeburthScreenplay:
Volker EinrauchCinematography:
Martin LangerComposer:
Johan SöderqvistCast:
Julia Jentsch, Heike Warmuth, Mirko Lang, Ludwig Blochberger, Sebastian Koch, Thomas Thieme, Juliane Köhler, Petra Marie Cammin, Thomas Neumann, Barbara Auer (more)Plots(1)
Following her parents' wishes, spirited seventeen-year-old Effi Briest marries Baron von Innstetten – a former admirer of her mother – who is twenty years Effi's senior. This marriage of prudence heralds the beginning of a humdrum life, far from home, for Effi. Innstetten devotes himself entirely to his political career, and the sleepy small town of Kessin has very little to offer in terms of variety. But then, one day, Innstetten's old regimental comrade, Major Crampas – a charming womanizer – arrives on the scene. Effi begins a passionate affair with him and, for the first time, discovers the meaning of love. Years later, when Baron Innstetten hears of their now bygone affair, he challenges Major Crampas to a duel: "I love my wife. Yes, it may seem strange, but I still love her. – But if you hold true to such things and tell me that you love this wife so much that you can forgive everything, I must ask you: do we have to go through with this? – In spite of this, we must. We are not mere individuals. We belong to the whole. And it is our duty to defer to the whole." Crampas dies in the duel. In a departure from Fontane's version, Effi decides that the only thing to do is to begin a new life ... (Berlinale)
(more)Cast
![Julia Jentsch](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/167/401/167401290_d0e4d1.jpg)
Julia Jentsch
West Germany
Best movies:
Downfall (2004)
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)
24 Weeks (2016)
![Heike Warmuth](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/599/159599574_bb00c3.jpg)
Heike Warmuth
Best movies:
Die Kirschenkönigin (2004) (series)
Eight Miles High! (2007)
Whiskey with Vodka (2009)
![Mirko Lang](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/463/159463764_9f3a65.jpg)
Mirko Lang
Best movies:
Offroad (2012)
Guys and Balls (2004)
The Miracle of Bern (2003)
![Ludwig Blochberger](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/532/161532045_9ba518.jpg)
Ludwig Blochberger
East Germany
Best movies:
Generation War (2013) (series)
The Lives of Others (2006)
The Reader (2008)
![Sebastian Koch](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/166/723/166723184_b57efd.jpg)
Sebastian Koch
West Germany
Best movies:
The Lives of Others (2006)
Black Book (2006)
Gloomy Sunday (1999)
![Thomas Thieme](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/093/886/93886078_f8c306.jpg)
Thomas Thieme
Germany
Best movies:
The Lives of Others (2006)
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)
Downfall (2004)
![Juliane Köhler](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/169/055/169055552_k7r7xb.jpg)
Juliane Köhler
West Germany
Best movies:
Downfall (2004)
Nowhere in Africa (2001)
Aimee & Jaguar (1999)
![Petra Marie Cammin](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/168/145/168145006_q2xzz9.jpg)
Petra Marie Cammin
East Germany
Best movies:
Bridge of Spies (2015)
Weekend Rebels (2023)
Der Seerosenteich (2002) (TV movie)
![Thomas Neumann](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/598/160598833_f6c059.jpg)
Thomas Neumann
Germany
Best movies:
Solo Sunny (1980)
Barbara (2012)
Three (2010)
![Barbara Auer](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/168/787/168787296_9nuofh.jpg)
Barbara Auer
West Germany
Best movies:
Herzlich willkommen (1990)
The Book Thief (2013)
Grzimek (2015) (TV movie)
Karoline Hugler
Best movies:
Gripsholm (2000)
Effi Briest (2009)
![Rüdiger Vogler](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/275/275020_194509.jpg)
Rüdiger Vogler
German Empire
Best movies:
Kings of the Road (1976)
Alice in the Cities (1974)
Sunshine (1999)
![Mišel Matičević](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/166/737/166737729_99426c.jpg)
Mišel Matičević
West Germany
Best movies:
The Billion Dollar Code (2021) (series)
My Beautiful Country (2012)
The Company (2007) (series)
![Carina N. Wiese](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/157/932/157932543_d7d00c.jpg)
Carina N. Wiese
East Germany
Best movies:
The Silent Revolution (2018)
The Book Thief (2013)
Phantom Pain (2009)
![Hansjürgen Hürrig](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/562/159562547_2cf19c.jpg)
Hansjürgen Hürrig
German Empire
Best movies:
Solo Sunny (1980)
Carl & Bertha (2011) (TV movie)
Polizeiruf 110 (1971) (series)
![Sunnyi Melles](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/272/272285_84994f.jpg)
Sunnyi Melles
Luxembourg
Best movies:
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)
Falco - Verdammt, wir leben noch! (2008)
Steppenwolf (1974)
![Tatja Seibt](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/169/188/169188191_3dn2t5.jpg)
Tatja Seibt
German Empire
Best movies:
Sein letztes Rennen (2013)
54 Hours (2018) (series)
The Most Beautiful Day (2016)
![Margarita Broich](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/245/158245536_e539f3.jpg)
Margarita Broich
West Germany
Best movies:
The Reader (2008)
Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank (2016)
Sources of Life (2013)
![Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/278/278931_7e83fa.jpg)
Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey
West Germany
Best movies:
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
The Counterfeiters (2007)
Das Adlon. Eine Familiensaga (2013) (series)
![André Hennicke](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/272/272481_0eefe9.jpg)
André Hennicke
East Germany
Best movies:
Downfall (2004)
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)
As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me (2001)