So sind die Männer

Set against the fragile geopolitical equilibrium established by the Peace of Tilsit in 1807, Georg Jacoby’s 'So sind die Männer' (1923) unfolds as a lavishly mounted satirical exploration of the Kingdom of Westphalia. The narrative centers on Jerome Bonaparte, Napoleon’s youngest sibling, whose elevation to the throne of this nascent state serves as a catalyst for an era of unprecedented hedonism and courtly excess. Eschewing the martial rigor of his brother’s empire, Jerome—portrayed with a deft comedic touch by Paul Heidemann—transforms Schloss Wilhelmshöhe near Kassel into a sanctuary of sybaritic delight. The film meticulously chronicles the daily rhythms of this 'König Lustik,' whose governance is defined less by administrative acumen and more by the curation of magnificent garden parties, elaborate water features, and an endless parade of romantic entanglements. Within the verdant expanses of the castle parks, the weight of European conquest is replaced by the levity of flirtation and the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure. Jacoby’s lens captures a world where the ephemeral joy of a masquerade holds more currency than the shifting borders of a continent, presenting a court that is both a gilded cage and a stage for the comedic foibles of the Bonaparte lineage. The arrival of various courtly figures and the inevitable friction between personal desire and dynastic duty provide the friction necessary to propel this costume drama through its opulent paces, ultimately reflecting the transient nature of power in the face of human vanity.