The Decline of a Family

Buddenbrooks -The Decline of a Family is the gripping cinematic adaption of thomas Mann's Nobel Prize-Winning Novel of 1900. Touching upon the fate of three generations, we witness the rise and fall of a merchant family in Northern Germany. In a society that is poised to change, family values seem doomed to change with it. Personal longings were supposed to be sacrificed for the greater good of the family business now treaten to break apart a dynasty that was characterized by diligence and hard work and by faith and respect. While Thomas is willing to fill the void of their father, Consul Jean, and to steer the firm through the times of modernization and rising competition, his brother Christian is trying to break away from any responsibility. It is left to their sister, Tony, who sacrifices her true love for the sake of the family's fortune, to hold the family ties together. But when their competitor Hagenström proves to have the better instinct for the changing needs of the market, even her influence seems to vanish ...