Treffen in Travers

Short Summary (English)

In the fall of 1793, three people meet at an inn in a remote corner of the then neutral Switzerland. They are Georg Forster; a delegate to the National Convention, who has come straight from Paris; his exiled wife with their two young daughters from their domicile in Switzerland; and Ferdinand Huber; her lover and a journalist. Political events have prevented the married couple from seeing each other for a whole year. They arranged by means of letters to meet in Travers in order to clarify the complicated situation and to have their divorce officially enforced because Therese wants to marry Huber; who used to be a friend of her husband's.

But soon after this encounter, they realise that there are still many things binding them together. During the three days, Therese therefore tries to convince the sick and lonely Forster to return to Germany and to lead a quiet life as a scholar. She would even be prepared to leave Huber and live with Forster again. Forster; in turn, would even accept a menage-a-trois if Therese followed him to Paris.

In March 1793, Forster goes to Paris. As president of the Jacobin Club, he is to conduct the negotiations to have the revolutionary town of Mainz united with France. But Mainz falls to counter-revolutionary troops soon afterwards. Forster cannot return to Germany. Therese and the children have to go into exile. Huber looks after the family in Switzerland.

Source: Progress Film-Verleih

Film Crew

Director

• Michael Gwisdek

Script

• Michael Gwisdek
• Thomas Knauf

Camera

• Claus Neumann

Film Editing

• Evelyn Carow

Cast

• Hermann Beyer (Georg Forster)
• Corinna Harfouch (Therese Forster)
• Uwe Kockisch (Ferdinand Huber)
• Peter Dommisch (Leonidas, Wirt)
• Heide Kipp (Marthe, Wirtin)
• Wolf-Dietrich Köllner (Rougemont, Staatsrat)
• Astrid Krenz (Liese, Kindermädchen)
• Andreas Schneider (Jean-Claude, Gendarm)
• Hark Bohm (Bürgermeister)
• Michael Kind (Preußischer Geheime)
• Herbert Olschok (Preußischer Geheime)
• Horst Krause (Grenzbeamter)
• Jochen Ziller (Offizier)
• Susanne Bormann (Röschen Forster)
• Lucie Gebhardt (Klärchen Forster)
• Johannes Gwisdek (Junge)
• Robert Gwisdek (Junge)
• Bernd Schirmer (Kutscher)
• Kurt Götz (Kutscher)

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Assistant Director

• Hanna Seydel

Assistant Camera

• Peter Bernhardt
• Klaus Goldmann

Scenario

• Thomas Knauf

Production Design

• Hans Poppe

Script Editing

• Christoph Prochnow

Music

• Reiner Bredemeyer

Sound

• Hans-Joachim Kreinbrink
• Konrad Walle (Tonmischung)

Costume Design

• Katrine Cremer

Make-Up

• Jürgen Holzapfel
• Irmela Holzapfel

Props

• Werner Zettler

Production Management

• Herbert Ehler

Unit Production Management

• Antje Wittfoth
• Peter Vogel

DEFA Photography

• Klaus Goldmann

Short Summary (German)

Im Herbst 1793 trifft sich der in Paris lebende Georg Forster in einem einsamen Gasthof in der Schweiz mit seiner Frau Therese, um die Scheidung zu besprechen. Therese ist mit den beiden gemeinsamen Kindern und ihrem neuen Lebensgefährten Ferdinand Huber gekommen. Der physisch und psychisch von den revolutionären Kämpfen in Frankreich geschwächte Forster versucht, Therese zu überreden, mit ihm nach Paris zu fahren. Er ist bereit, Huber als Dritten im Bunde zu akzeptieren. Therese, die wegen der politischen Tätigkeit ihres Mannes im Schweizer Exil lebt, möchte die Scheidung, um nach Deutschland zurückzukönnen. Sie versucht, auch Forster zur Rückkehr zu bewegen, damit er endlich zur Ruhe kommt. Sie lehnt es ab, mit ihm nach Paris zu gehen, obwohl sie ihn noch immer liebt. Therese weiß, dass er sein Privatleben stets der Arbeit für die Revolution opfern würde. Und sie weiß, dass Huber sie braucht.

(Quelle: Das zweite Leben der Filmstadt Babelsberg. DEFA-Spielfilme 1946-1992)

Short Summary (Other Languages)

Nell'autunno del 1793 Georg Forster, trasferitosi a Parigi, s'incontra con sua moglie Therese in una locanda in Svizzera per discutere con lei del divorzio. Therese si presenta all'appuntamento con i loro due figli e il suo nuovo compagno Ferdinand Huber. Forster, debilitato fisicamente e psichicamente dalle lotte rivoluzionarie in Francia, cerca di convincere Therese a seguirlo a Parigi, accettando persino la presenza di Huber. Therese, costretta a vivere in esilio in Svizzera per l'attivismo politico di suo marito, vuole il divorzio per poter rientrare in Germania. Anche lei cerca di convincere Forster a seguirla, affinché ritrovi un po' di tranquillità. Nonostante lei lo ami ancora, rifiuta di seguirlo a Parigi, convinta che Forster sacrificherà sempre la sua vita privata a favore della rivoluzione. Inoltre, Therese sa di non poter più vivere senza Huber. (Italienisch)