1 / 8
ERA
Did you know
Released 14 years ago.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Cast
Moritz Bleibtreu
Paul Jensen
Kasia Smutniak
Katja
Mark Ivanir
Aslan
Max Riemelt
Dima
Stipe Erceg
Vladimir
Cosima Shaw
Andrea Berger
Reiner Schöne
Sokolow
Rade Šerbedžija
Onjegin
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Dennis Gansel
- Writers
- Dennis Gansel
- Languages
- Russian, English
- Countries
- Germany
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 8
WORLD
Did you know
Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Russian, English.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by Dennis Gansel, shot by Daniel Gottschalk. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Original score by Heiko Maile. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor Jochen Retter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Moritz Bleibtreu and Kasia Smutniak and Mark Ivanir carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 8
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt1709122 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
WILD
Did you know
Only 58 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
MoodPlayr · trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Dennis Gansel directs. Daniel Gottschalk behind the camera. Heiko Maile scores. Jochen Retter cuts. Produced in Germany. Dialogue in Russian, English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Released 14 years ago.
- 2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Russian, English.
- 3Directed by Dennis Gansel, shot by Daniel Gottschalk. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 4Original score by Heiko Maile. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 5Editor Jochen Retter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 6Moritz Bleibtreu and Kasia Smutniak and Mark Ivanir carry the top of the cast.
- 7IMDB entry: tt1709122 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 8Only 58 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Daniel Gottschalk
- Original score
- Heiko Maile
- Editing
- Jochen Retter
- Production design
- Matthias Müsse
- VFX supervisor
- Denis Behnke
- Sound
- Alexander Saal
- Runtime
- 115 min · 1h 55m
- Status
- Released
- Original language
- DE
- IMDB rating
- 6.1/10 · 2,454 votes
Awards
2 nominations
Also by
Dennis Gansel
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- CinemaSerf★ 6/10
Regular fans of these cold war thrillers might get enough from this, but it doesn't really offer us very much new. "Paul" (Moritz Bleibtreu) is a journalist who is enticed to Moscow from Berlin by publisher "Onjegin" (Rade Serbedzija) to look into an alleged Chechen terrorist attack that destroyed a block of residential flats killing many of it's occupants. Barely has he landed in the city when he witnesses the assassination of a fellow journalist - a man critical of the government, and then he finds himself involved with the equally controversial "Katja" (Kasia Smutniak) who is steering him towards crafting content for his ostensibly rather light and fluffy "society" newspaper that is bound to ruffle some official feathers. His naivete soon lands him in even more trouble when he gets caught up in another explosion that sees him arrested and incarcerated with a menacing bunch of Chechens. Is he ever to jail leave in one piece, or even alive, and might he (and we) ever get some explanations as to just who is pulling the strings and why? This is a perfectly adequately produced drama but innovating isn't a word I'd use to describe the plot. The nasty Russians are portrayed with little subtlety, reinforcing stereotypes galore right until the end, and the unprepossessing Bliebtreu hasn't really any significant screen presence as the sense of peril gently but definitely fizzles out and the story loses a bit of it's more menacing focus. This film rather reflects a directing and writing style that suggests more a familiar affection for the genre in general rather than blazing any new trails, and though it's all watchable enough, I doubt you will ever recall it.
Production companies
Who made it
- UF
UFA Cinema
DE
SevenPictures Film
DE
Key crew
- ProducerThomas Peter Friedl
- CastingNina Haun
- ProducerNina Maag
- ProducerNico Hofmann
- ADR & DubbingPierre Peters-Arnolds
- Sound DesignerAlexander Saal
- ADR & DubbingAnja-Corinne Welter
- GafferSergii Svietnyi
- Art DirectionRalf Schreck
- Sound Re-Recording MixerTschangis Chahrokh
- Visual Effects SupervisorDenis Behnke
- Still PhotographerStephan Rabold
- Script SupervisorZoe Simijonovic
- Rigging GafferSascha Wolfram
- Set DecorationTilman Lasch
- FoleyMax Bauer
- Production DesignMatthias Müsse
- Sound Re-Recording MixerChristian Bischoff
- VFX Production CoordinatorAnnika Hirsch
- EditorJochen Retter
- Production ManagerSascha Schwill
- Visual Effects SupervisorJörn Großhans
Release history · US
When it landed
- Theatrical2012-03-08
Also known as
International titles
- O Quarto EstadoBR
- O Quarto EstadoPT
- Le quatrième pouvoirCA
- The Fourth StateUS
- Le Quatrième PouvoirFR
- The 4th StateUS
