Reunion (1989 film)

Reunion
Poster for Reunion 1989
Directed by	Jerry Schatzberg
Produced by	Anne Francois
Written by	Harold Pinter
Starring	Jason Robards Samuel West Christien Anholt Francoise Fabian
Music by	Philippe Sarde
Cinematography	Bruno De Keyzer
Edited by	Martine Barraque
Distributed by	Rank Film Distributors Ltd
Release date	6 July 1989 (UK release)
Running time	110 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Reunion is a 1989 dramatic film based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Fred Uhlman, directed by Jerry Schatzberg from a screenplay by Harold Pinter. It stars Jason Robards. The film was released in France under the title L' Ami Retrouvé and in Germany as Der wiedergefundene Freund.

The story is centred on the "enchanted friendship" of two teenagers in 1933 Germany. Hans Strauss (Christien Anholt) is the son of a Jewish doctor and Konradin Von Lohenburg (Samuel West) is from an aristocratic family. The background is the rise of Nazism. Jason Robards plays the older Hans in the 1970s as he prepares to travel to Germany for the first time since the 1930s. The film was shot on location in Berlin, New York and Stuttgart.Reunion was nominated for a Golden Palm at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.

American lawyer Henry Strauss (Robards) is preparing to return to Germany for the first time since he left in 1933 following Adolf Hitler's rise to power. He is seeking to renew an "enchanting friendship" of his youth with aristocrat Konradin Von Lohenburg (West).

Strauss was the son of a Jewish doctor and the friends did not see that around them the rise of Nazism would lead to their separation. Their travels together and philosophical discussions against the elegant background of 1930s Stuttgart form the main part of the film, told in flashback.

The older Henry's search for his childhood friend leads to a startling revelation as he discovers what became of Konradin after Hitler took power.