TV tip
Living in the forest: “Blackout at Wellmanns”
Thomas Wellmann (Wotan Wilke Möhring, r) is preparing for another blackout with his wife Eva (Jördis Triebel, l) and their daughters Paula (Daria Vivien Wolf, 2nd from left) and Jenny (Josefine Keller, 2nd from right). photo
© Frank Dicks/ZDF/arte/dpa
Job gone, power outage, family on the verge of a nervous breakdown. There seems to be only one way out of the blackout: back to the roots and into the forest.
Thomas Wellmann (Wotan Wilke Möhring) is by no means an opponent of artificial intelligence. But the new technology is taking a toll on him. Because of her, he lost his job as a technical manager at the electricity supplier in a small Rhenish town. Resigned to warm words, an engraved fountain pen and a hefty sum of money. The father of the family is just clearing his office when the power goes out in the entire supply area: a blackout. This is how the tragicomedy “Blackout at Wellmanns” begins, which can be seen on Arte on Friday (8:15 p.m.).
Wellmann manages to help his inexperienced young successors in the control room by providing precise information over the telephone – and thus succeeds Power running again. As a thank you from the company, he can sign a cease and desist declaration.
Due to this unpleasant event and encouraged by his acquaintance Peter Leschke (Hannes Wegener), who is a prepper who prepares for all sorts of disasters, Wellmann purchases countless supplies and tools. He invests several thousand euros. The technician plans to experience a survival weekend in the cool forest with his wife Eva (Jördis Triebel) and their daughters Paula (Daria Vivien Wolf) and Jenny (Josefine Keller) – but the three of them are significantly less enthusiastic about this idea. They are now seriously thinking about their husband and dad, with whom they would rather spend a relaxing vacation instead of losing themselves in doomsday hysteria.
Author Leo Khasin (50, “The Unword”, “Kaddish for a Friend”) and author Fred Breinersdorfer (77, “Honecker and the Pastor”, “A Girl is Missing”) have several here – with an extremely playful ensemble Current topics are packed into their film: “prepping” (protective measures against disasters through bunkers and supplies), the energy crisis, as well as the controversial AI and the possibilities of – sometimes radical – climate protection. But luckily it’s also really fun: Anyone who doesn’t yet know what luster terminals are will now find out, as will the two “IT specialists” who get to see the inside of a technical room for the first time.
Wotan Wilke Möhring (56, “Tatort”, “Because we are Champions”) plays with great seriousness, which often dissolves into funny moments, a man who is driven by concern for his family on the one hand and the thought that on the other hand The collapse of energy sources such as electricity and gas will affect humanity on this planet much faster than the climate crisis. Möhring’s character is a complete bundle of nerves, constantly fiddling with his glasses (which of course fit correctly) and can’t even begin to relax.
His loving wife, played sensually and pragmatically by Jördis Triebel (46, “The Flying Classroom”), on the other hand, can certainly do that. She raids the supplies in the basement – until the power goes out again and she gets stuck in the office elevator – she suffers from claustrophobia. From this moment at the latest, there are no longer any limits to the complete chaos and sheer madness that is grandly paid homage to here.