The Conquest of the Centre

A funny and complex examination of the psychotherapy boom. It portrays the adventures of the unscrupulous whizkid therapist Mark Stroemer and his female rival Wolke Donner. The therapy-damaged Wolke goes undercover to infiltrate the offices of her erstwhile therapist Stroemer, who shamelessly exploits his most hopeless therapy cases to write dubious self-help bestsellers. Challenged by the intelligent and attractive spy, the quack doctor goes into high gear and helps Jacoby, a real estate broker hooked on psychotherapy, beat cancer. "At the beginning of the 90s, almost everyone was in therapy, in the Tuesday group or the Wednesday group. They didn't act or react, but "acted" among themselves. Even then, the Minister of Defense threatened: "We will not be spared the path to normality." The film, restored as a film heritage, is set in the present day: star therapist Strömer turns his back on the groups. Particularly interesting individual cases lead him deeper into the German psyche. In this serious-comic psycho-comedy, the elements of identity are liberatingly ex-perimented with. "It's about real tumors, false diagnoses and general hysteria. The target audience of Bramkamp's wit are the soul doctors and therapists." (Alexander Kluge)

Keywords

  • Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis
  • Made in Germany
  • Robert Bramkamp
  • Weirich & Bramkamp
  • Black Comedy
  • depression
  • psychology
  • urban living

Actors

  • Karina Fallenstein
  • Peter Lohmeyer
  • John S. Mehnert
  • Franziska Ponitz
  • Andreas Raedler
  • Marie Schmidt
  • Manfred Studer
  • Bernhard Wutka
  • Matthias Fuchs
  • Elke Kaiser
  • Thomas Knab
  • Boris Krebs
  • Leonard Lansink

Director

  • Robert Bramkamp

Icons & Media Art


1h 17min


16 FSK

DE


ES

FR

IT

PT

EN

Germany
1995
A funny and complex examination of the psychotherapy boom.

A funny and complex examination of the psychotherapy boom.


A funny and complex examination of the psychotherapy boom. It portrays the adventures of the unscrupulous whizkid therapist Mark Stroemer and his female rival Wolke Donner.


The therapy-damaged Wolke goes undercover to infiltrate the offices of her erstwhile therapist Stroemer, who shamelessly exploits his most hopeless therapy cases to write dubious self-help bestsellers. Challenged by the intelligent and attractive spy, the quack doctor goes into high gear and helps Jacoby, a real estate broker hooked on psychotherapy, beat cancer.


"At the beginning of the 90s, almost everyone was in therapy, in the Tuesday group or the Wednesday group. They didn't act or react, but "acted" among themselves. Even then, the Minister of Defense threatened: "We will not be spared the path to normality." The film, restored as a film heritage, is set in the present day: star therapist Strömer turns his back on the groups. Particularly interesting individual cases lead him deeper into the German psyche. In this serious-comic psycho-comedy, the elements of identity are liberatingly ex-perimented with. "It's about real tumors, false diagnoses and general hysteria. The target audience of Bramkamp's wit are the soul doctors and therapists." (Alexander Kluge)

Festivals

Cast & Crew