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The Fourth State

The Fourth State (Die vierte Macht)

Movie · 2012 · 4 people

The Fourth State (German: Die vierte Macht; known in Turkey as Dördüncü Kuvvet) is a 2012 psychological thriller and spy film by the German director and writer Dennis Gansel. Its title alludes to the "fourth estate", the power of the press. It premiered in Germany on 8 March 2012 and was developed under the working title The Year of the Snake. In Russia it reached audiences on 3 October 2012 at a festival in Orenburg. It runs about 115 minutes. Turkish audiences know Gansel from Geceler Bizim; this one is a spy-action film centred on Russia and was among the nominees for the German Film Awards.

Paul Jensen (Moritz Bleibtreu), a successful journalist, moves from Germany to Moscow to escape problems in his life. His experience soon makes him society editor of a popular magazine. His glittering life of fashion shows, famous faces and wild parties does not last. His interest in a beautiful woman named Katja brings trouble: she dies in a political bombing, and Paul is accused of ties to terrorists and must prove his innocence to Russia's justice system. Kasia Smutniak, Max Riemelt (Dima), Rade Šerbedžija (Onjegin), Mark Ivanir (Aslan) and Isabella Vinet are also in the cast.

It was the fifth film on which Gansel and Riemelt worked together.

DirectorDennis Gansel
The Fourth State (Die vierte Macht) The Fourth State (Die vierte Macht) The Fourth State (Die vierte Macht)

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Cast

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Grigori Dobrıgin Grigori Dobrıgin Film actor · 40 years old Korkmaz Arslan Korkmaz Arslan Actor · 43 years old Moritz Bleibtreu Moritz Bleibtreu Film actor · 55 years old Kasia Smutniak Kasia Smutniak Actor · 47 years old

Titles sharing this cast

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

In The Fourth State, Dennis Gansel frames an outsider's view of Moscow in two distinct tones: first a glossy society world of fashion shows, celebrities and parties, then a thriller that turns paranoid after a bombing. The shift between these halves is both the film's most interesting and its most problematic element; the first half's superficiality looks deliberate, but it struggles to set up the weight of the second. Moritz Bleibtreu convincingly carries the role of a journalist losing himself in events. The movement between English and Russian heightens the sense of foreignness. At roughly 115 minutes it feels a little long, especially in the middle, yet it remains an ambitious genre piece that makes its German Film Award nomination understandable.

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

At first you are watching a journalist's party life in Moscow and wondering where it's headed. Then Katja dies in a bombing, Paul is accused, and things turn serious fast. The tension of a man trying to prove his innocence is well built. But the opening stretch runs longer than it needs to, and you need some patience before the real tension kicks in. For spy and thriller fans, what comes after is worth it.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The title alludes to the idea of the press as the "fourth estate", and the choice is no accident. A journalist who breaks sales records at a society magazine becomes, after a political attack, the subject of the news himself. The film sets the glossy face of the media beside an individual left defenceless before a country's justice system. Because it is told through the eyes of a foreigner who moved from Germany to Moscow, we see Russia somewhat from outside, through thriller conventions. That view offers atmosphere more than a deep understanding of the country's inner dynamics, yet it still prompts reflection on the relationship between media and power.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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