Ruby Red (2013)

Ruby Red (German: Rubinrot) is a 2013 German fantasy film based on the book with the same name by Kerstin Gier and is the first part in the Ruby Red Trilogy. A sequel was produced in 2014 under the title Sapphire Blue (German: Saphirblau), followed in 2016 by Emerald Green (German: Smaragdgrün).

Plot

A young man and woman are chased by a group of hooded men intent on killing them and taking a device that they carry. As they are surrounded, the man Paul reassures his companion that Gwendolyn will be safe, that Grace will protect her. Just as the men are about to kill them, Paul and the young woman activate the device and disappear.

The film fastforwards sixteen years later, to the day before Gwendolyn "Gwen" Shepherd's sixteenth birthday. She belongs to an aristocratic London family who do not believe in associating with "commoners". They look down on Gwen because she, her mother Grace, and her brother Nick are the only "normal" family members. The family gathers for a party in honor of Gwen's cousin Charlotte, who is one day older than her. They hold a special regard for Charlotte as she possesses a secret genetic mutation, inherited by only one female per generation, that gives her the ability to travel back in time. At the party, Charlotte taunts Gwen about being unable to get a date for the school ball. Gwen is attracted to Gideon de Villiers, but he only has eyes for Charlotte. When Charlotte suddenly becomes ill, Gideon rushes her to a mysterious secret society, the Order of Count Saint Germain; he apparently is a carrier of the same gene. Believing Charlotte to be the "Ruby", the long-prophesied last time traveler, the Order inducts her.

Shortly afterwards, Gwen also becomes ill and begins seeing ghosts. She goes out to get some fresh air and stumbles into the nineteenth century. The only person she tells about this time jump is her best friend Leslie, who quickly recognizes that Gwen must be the one who inherited the time travel gene instead of Charlotte. Gwen makes several more uncontrolled jumps in time and learns about a conflict between her family and the Order. Gwen finally tells her mother about her time traveling. Grace recognizes that Gwen is the Ruby and brings her to the Order for help controlling her ability. Gwen's aunt, Charlotte's mother, does not believe her and accuses her of attempting to be the center of attention. The Order's guards fear a conspiracy, since decades ago Grace helped the previous time travelers, Lucy and Paul, escape. Gideon, also known as Diamond, does not want to work with Gwen because of his closeness to Charlotte—they have been training together for years for a mysterious "mission"—who in turn is upset about being replaced by Gwen.

Gwen is eventually confirmed as the so-called "Ruby", the last of twelve time travelers, but has doubts about the Order, the mission, and the Chronograph, a device the Order can use to control the time traveling of the twelve travelers. Lucy previously helped steal the Chronograph because she was afraid of a terrible power it held. Gwen still is unsure what exactly is going on, but at the Order, she is given an unlimited spending account, and Gideon is warned to keep an eye on Gwendolyn, and is also warned against any love affairs between the two time traveling families. Gwen overhears him say that she is definitely not his type.

Due to the theft of the previous chronograph by Gwen's cousin Lucy, blood samples have to be collected from all of the formerly living carriers to finish a second device. Gideon is unable to collect blood from Lady Tilney, Gwen's great-great-grandmother, as she knows Gwendolyn's name and will only cooperate with Gwendolyn. When Gideon and Gwen visit Lady Tilney in 1912, Lucy and Paul suddenly appear, warning Gwendolyn of the dangers of finishing the Chronograph and of the Count's plans to sacrifice her life to achieve his goals. Gideon overpowers Paul and the butler and runs away with Gwen. Back in the 21st century, Gwen takes Gideon out to a "common" restaurant for some Indian food, which is a new experience for him.

Back at headquarters, only Gwendolyn believes in Lucy and Paul's sincerity, while the Guardians are convinced of a plot by the Florentine Alliance that has been fighting the Count of Saint Germain for centuries. Falk de Villiers, grandmaster of the lodge, wants to control Gwen and is worried about her curiosity, but Gideon starts having some twinges of doubt. Charlotte taunts Gwen with her close relationship with Gideon. Gwen breaks the Order's vows of secrecy and shares about her experiences with her friend Leslie. Charlotte recruits a teacher at the school, who is a secret member of the Order, to stop them. Gideon picks Gwen up at the school with a limo, which impresses her classmates.

Gwen goes to meet with the Count of Saint Germain in 1782. He is able to read minds but is not impressed with Gwen and will not answer her questions. The Count wonders what the Ruby's special magic is. Gwen does not know. When she talks about the future to his companions, he chokes her Darth Vader style and warns her not to break his rules. Gwen questions Gideon about his blind obedience to the Order even though he knows little about their goals.

On the way back, their carriage is attacked in Hyde Park. During the fight, Gwen saves Gideon's life, and he is forced to reevaluate how he sees her. Gwen wants to run away from the Order but Gideon says they can't because the Order "owns" them. Ultimately he decides to search with her for answers. He kisses her as thanks for saving his life, which Charlotte observes from a window.

At night, they sneak into the Order's archives to find an ancient prophecy about themselves, but the secret documents were transferred to a bank years ago. Using a note from Gwen's grandfather, they convince Mr. George to help them travel to 1942 to find the documents. In 1942, they read the prophecy about how Gwen's death as the Ruby (a.k.a. "the Raven"), bleeding out in the snow, will bring the circle of the twelve to completion. The last part of the prophecy is torn off and missing. Security guards break in, and in trying to escape, Gwen falls many stories to the ground from the top of the observatory tower. After being unconscious for some time in the snow-covered courtyard, Gwen wakes up in a pool of her own blood. The Count then comes in spirit form to confront her. Meanwhile, Gideon is thrown into the dungeon. The ghost of a little boy whom Gwen has been seeing throughout the movie appears and helps keep Gwen discover that Lucy's talisman she has been carrying is actually a key to help her get into the building and stay alive.

Again in the present, Gwen is found unconscious from hypothermia. Falk de Villiers quotes the prophecy of her icy death and tries to prevent any efforts to save her life. But Gideon defies this instruction and carries Gwen in the doctor's room. When she recovers, he promises her to always take care of her.

Gwendolyn goes to the big school ball wearing her cousin Lucy's dress and being accompanied by Gideon. She discovers from a family photo that the little boy she has been seeing is her grandfather's dead younger brother, and she concludes that her ability to see ghosts could be the special "magic of the raven." At the ball Gideon and Gwen share a kiss while a ghost dances nearby. The film concludes with Paul and Lucy escaping again from another group of men who are chasing them.

Production Background

Origin

The film's rights were acquired by the production companies "schlicht und ergreifend GmbH" and "mem-Film" (mind's eye media GmbH). Katharina Schöde wrote the script and Felix Fuchssteiner directed. The film was created in collaboration with Concorde Filmverleih GmbH (a film distribution company) and Tele München Fernseh Produktionsgesellschaft (a manufacturing company).

Cast

After auditions, the main roles were given to the young actors Maria Ehrich, Jannis Niewöhner, and Laura Berlin. Some other well-known actors like Veronica Ferres, Axel Milberg, Katharina Thalbach, Kostja Ullmann and Josefine Preuß are in the movie too.

Maria Ehrich as Gwendolyn "Gwen" Shepherd

Jannis Niewöhner as Gideon de Villiers

Laura Berlin as Charlotte Montrose

Veronica Ferres as Grace Shepherd

Uwe Kockisch as Falk de Villiers

Katharina Thalbach as Tante Maddy

Gottfried John as Dr. White

Josefine Preuß as Lucy Montrose

Florian Bartholomäi as Paul de Villiers

Johannes Silberschneider as Mr. Bernhard

Gerlinde Locker as Lady Arista

Axel Milberg as Lucas Montrose

Jennifer Lotsi as Leslie Hay

Philip Wiegratz as Gordon Gelderman

Filming

The movie was filmed over 42 days, from February 21, 2012 to April 26, 2012 in Mulhouse/Thuringia, Eisenach, Weimar, Cologne, Aachen, Juelich, Coburg, Bayreuth, and London. All scenes were filmed at real locations and no backdrop was used. The filming locations must look like London architecture, but also look like their respective time periods.

The headquarters of the guards should resemble a middle age fortress. The filming for the scenes in the "Dragon Hall" is in a ballroom at Wartburg Castle near Eisenach. A few staircases and arcades (usually an arch covered walkways) were used as backdrops, but most scenes in the "underground secret passage of the Order" were filmed in the casemates of the Juelich Citadel. The historic walls of the Mulhouse Town Hall, including the large council hall, the City Council Archives, and the gatehouse were used to make up the Order's property. The filming of "Madame Rossini's Tailor Workshop" was at Callenberg Castle in Coburg, specifically in the castle chapel. The background for the "Observatory of the Secret Order" was at Aachen Observatory, with its historic telescope, and the theft of the Chronograph was filmed at the Paradise Fountain in the square of Aachen Cathedral. The cathedral courtyard was transformed into the "outdoor area of the headquarters" by using different historical streetlamps, cars with British license plates, and antique horse-drawn carriages for the three different time periods.

The film sequence of Christmas 1942, where Gwendolyn and Gideon sneak into the Observatory of the secret Order, was described by producer Felix Fuchssteiner as: "Ultimately Gwen and Gideon climb up the stairs at Wartburg Castle, then are in the Observatory in Aachen, Gwen falls out the Observatory into the courtyard in Coburg and goes through the door and arrives in Juelich."

The Ketschendorf Castle in Corburg, which has a Neo-Gothic style, is the main inspiration for the "Montrose House", Gwendolyn's family home. The now youth hostel was vacant, so the set designers had free rein to decorate the room for the years 1994 and 2010.

Most of the interior shots for the school scenes at "St. Lennox High" are at the Markgräfin-Wilhelmine Gymnasium in Bayreuth during their 2012 spring break. Only the "Cherry Blossom Ball" was filmed in the Marble Hall of the Rosenau Castle in Coburg. For the outside of the college, Ehrenburg Castle was chosen for its Neo-Gothic facade and their spacious castle square became a "school parking lot" by adding British red telephone boxes and mailboxes.

For Gwendolyn's first time jump, Ludwigsstraße in Bayreuth was transformed into Victorian-era London in the middle of April in 2012. To achieve this, traffic signs were removed, additional window bars were put on windows facing the street, historical lanterns and lamps were put up, period accurate English street signs and ads were added, and the street had costumed extras, horse-drawn carriages, and vintage cars.

The setting for the visit to Lady Tilney in 1912 was in a luxurious mansion on Reuterweg in Eisenach. The attack on the carriage in 1787 was filmed at the Decksteiner Wieher (also known as "Hyde Park") in Cologne. Kerstin Gier got a cameo as a bypasser, who is frightened by the time traveler's sudden appearance. In action scenes, Jannis Niewoehner did most of his stunts himself. To prepare, he did intensive fencing and close combat training in Hungary beforehand.

During the four-day shoot near the end of April 2012 in London, only Maria Ehrich, Jannis Niewoehner, and Laura Berlin were there. They shot scenes from the book at the actual locations, for example scenes like Gwendolyn's telephone call on the Millennium Bridge, Gwen walking home from school along Camden High Street, Gwen's night-time bike trip, and the meeting between Gwen and Gideon at the Tower Bridge was filmed without barriers and during normal business hours. The aeriel shots were taken on location out of a helicopter.

Music

On March 8th, 2013, Sony Classical released the soundtrack for the film. It had the title track Faster by Sofi de la Torre, as well as the songs The Perfect Fall, Recognize Me, and Wings by the same artist.

The classical score was rehearsed at Staatskapelle Weimar, was recorded at Volkshaus Jena, and was created by the film composer Philipp F. Kölmel.

Release

The film had its world premiere on March 5th, 2013 in Munich. The regular theater release in Germany was on March 14th, 2013. The DVD and Blu-ray released on September 30th, 2013.

Differences between Book and Movie

Reception

"The time travel scenes leave you wanting more, but the romance hasn't sparked (yet): Felix Fuchssteiner's adaptation of the Young Adult best seller is a decent film, but above all, it holds the promise of an even better sequel."

– filmstart.de

"'Ruby Red' is best for female readers or fans of the book series. However, adults and those unfamiliar with the series can still be entertained by the intriguing story and detailed descriptions brought to life through beautiful illustrations."

– Movie Worlds

"Wherever special effects are used in 'Ruby Red', it works very well. Nevertheless, the film appears a bit too "international". When German actors say "Mom" and "Dad", it doesn't sound quite right. The characters browsing English websites and writing English text messages should cover that up, but it only causes confusion. The film doesn't really need it."

– www.freistunde-magazin.de

"Some narrative stumbles are covered up by the lead actress in particular."

– Lexikon des Internationalen Films

Audience Attendance and Box Office Success

The film was seen by 480,000 viewers in theaters and earned 3.4 million Euros (~3.95 million USD) in the box office. The worldwide box office reported 5.5 million USD.

Awards

In 2013, the score by Phillip F. Kömel was nominated for the International Film Music Critics Award (IFMCA) in the category "Best Score for Action/Adventure/Thrillers". Lead actor, Jannis Niewöhner, was nominated a year later for the New Faces Award as "Best Talented Young Actor".

Sequel

In September 2013, the production of the second movie "Saphire Blue" was announced. It released on August 14th, 2014 in theaters.

References

External links

Official website

Ruby Red at IMDb

Ruby Red Box Office

Production company for Ruby Red