Schiller (2005)

As a child, Schiller is sent against his parents’ wishes to the military academy in Stuttgart, where he is raised and trained under strict discipline. As a young man, while studying medicine, Schiller achieves his first major success as a poet with his rebellious play The Robbers. The Mannheim theater director, Baron Wolfgang von Dalberg, looks forward to further successes with Schiller. Soon afterward, however, Schiller is sentenced to two weeks’ confinement for leaving the academy grounds without permission. He is also forbidden to write. He manages to escape with his fellow student Andreas Streicher, who hopes to pursue a career as a musician. Schiller immediately presents Baron Dalberg with his next play, The Conspiracy of Fiesco in Genoa. After the play’s success, Schiller begins work on his next one and writes to Duke Carl Eugen, unsuccessfully asking him to grant his wish to pursue a career as a poet. While working on Intrigue and Love, Schiller falls in love with the actress Katharina Baumann and finds himself facing August Wilhelm Iffland’s jealousy over Katharina. Schiller lets himself be seduced by the actress Caroline Wiethoeft. Dalberg rejects Schiller’s Fiesco; Iffland, however, promises to intercede with the baron on Schiller’s behalf. Iffland’s efforts come to nothing, and Dalberg selects Iffland’s own new play for production. When soldiers suddenly appear at the theater, Katharina Baumann takes Schiller to her employer’s country estate, where the two grow closer. Schiller comes down with a fever and has to haggle with bookseller Schwan over the sale of his works. Even so, he is happy to be reunited with his former friend Scharffenstein. After Caroline Wiethoeft speaks up for Schiller, Dalberg helps him out of his financial difficulties with a subsidy and stages Fiesco. Iffland wants to marry Katharina Baumann and makes grand plans with her to become a theater director. Katharina, however, turns him down. While Schiller has to contend with illness and debts, Katharina feels that he has left her alone. When she then decides to accept Iffland’s proposal, she learns of his homosexual inclinations and realizes that the planned marriage is meant to serve as a cover. Two years later, she marries a musician who later becomes a music director—a marriage not shown in the film. Andreas Streicher leaves the apartment they share to take up a career opportunity. Because Schiller is behind schedule with Intrigue and Love (a title Iffland gave the play; Schiller had originally called it “Luise Millerin”), Dalberg’s favor is in jeopardy. Schiller eventually gets some help from bookseller Schwan. Dalberg’s favor threatens to run out altogether when he learns of Schiller’s desertion. In his feverish state, Schiller dictates Intrigue and Love to Katharina and still manages to finish the play by the deadline. Through the Electress’s intervention, Iffland becomes court playwright, although he acknowledges Schiller’s greatness. Bookseller Schwan is finally able to bring Schiller the good news that a gentleman from Leipzig has subscribed to Schiller’s journal Thalia. This man from Leipzig is also the one who pays Schiller’s debts.